Dive Brief:
- Homeowner outlay on home renovation projects is on pace to reach $321 billion by mid-2017, a figure that almost meets the precrash highs of 2006, constitutes an 8% growth rate and is nearly double the norm, according to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies.
- CNBC reported that homeowners are choosing the ever-popular kitchen and bath remodels, but the biggest bang for the buck comes with insulation. Multiroom remodel requests are up 67% year over year, according to HomeAdvisor.
- Home equity gains reached $260 billion in the first quarter, putting 38 million homeowners in a 20% equity position and making refinancing and home equity loans an attractive proposition.
Dive Insight:
While many homeowners are revamping their digs to build value or to meet their changing needs, potential sellers are also taking a fresh look at their homes for quick remodels that can boost their asking prices. Home renovation projects are so popular that industry growth could surpass that of new home construction in the coming years, HomeAdvisor Chief Economist Brad Hunter told CNBC.
On the industry side, the second-quarter Houzz 2016 Renovation Barometer report released earlier this month found that remodeler confidence is high but that there was a "slight weakening" in the demand for design-related services at both quarter-to-quarter and year-over-year levels. The report also found that older homeowners, Generation Xers and baby boomers, are driving the demand for remodeling services right now. In addition, Houzz found that not only are consumers choosing high-end products, but they're also launching more than one renovation project at a time.
The National Association of Home Builders also published its second-quarter 2016 Remodeling Market Index (RMI) and found that despite a one-point dip in its reading, remodeling firms are still reporting positive activity. A decrease in reported backlog of remodeling jobs pulled the score down, while a three-point increase in calls for bids helped keep the RMI's loss to a minimum.
