Home Improvement Trends
Home improvement is the renovation, alteration, repair, restoration, remodeling or addition to a home or building. Home improvements can include but are not limited to painting, flooring, remodeling of kitchens or bathrooms, adding rooms, putting in new windows or doors, heating and air conditioning systems, and roof repairs.
Homeowners have boosted their spending on home improvement projects, but that boost is expected to wane as they take a second look at the return on investment for some projects. Many projects are not cost-effective, and the ROI for others is quite low. Nevertheless, many people renovate their homes because they want to be comfortable and enjoy the lifestyle of living in a home rather than renting or moving every few years.
In fact, a survey conducted by The Home Depot and Lowe’s indicated that homeowners are more focused on their own enjoyment of home improvements than boosting a property’s resale value. Home improvement can also help fix safety issues, such as a dangerous electrical problem or a crack in the foundation. And some home improvements are necessary to ensure the health and well-being of a family, such as installing a carbon monoxide detector or a security system.
According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of America (JCHS), a leading source for research on housing, home ownership and renting trends, residential home improvement spending peaked in 2022 and will begin to decline in 2024. But the home improvement industry remains resilient, with more consumers expressing satisfaction with their upgraded homes.
The JCHS report indicates that in the last two years, 39% of respondents reported feeling satisfied seeing their completed home improvement projects. Some of these projects are relatively inexpensive, such as a painted room or installing a new door. But some are more expensive, such as a kitchen remodel or security system installation. In those cases, a homeowner may have to sacrifice other discretionary purchases or borrow against their equity to fund the project.
Among the most common home improvement projects are kitchen and bathroom renovations, exterior painting, replacing or repairing decks or patios, shingle replacement, adding a garage door, and installing central air conditioning. Other popular projects are updating appliances, such as a refrigerator or dishwasher; adding a fireplace or outdoor fire pit; and landscaping a yard.
In the eight-season run of the hit TV show Home Improvement, the character Randy left to go on an environmental study program in Costa Rica in the season seven finale episode “Adios”, though he returned for the eighth season Christmas episode and his final appearance was in archived footage. The other characters — Tim Allen, Richard Karn, Casey Sander and Debbe Dunning — did reunite for the television special Tim Allen Presents: A User’s Guide to Home Improvement in 2003 (with a terminally ill Earl Hindman doing voice-overs; he died shortly thereafter). Home improvement is one of the most important ways that you can invest in your home. But it’s vital to choose the right projects based on your budget and needs, and to avoid costly mistakes.