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Sydney, 27 August 2019 – Spend on kitchen renovations grew by 16 percent in the past year toa median spend of $20,000, according to the annual Houzz & Home Australia survey of morethan 8,800 respondents in Australia. Kitchens are the most popular rooms to renovate, followedby living rooms (26 and 23 percent, respectively). Bedrooms, bathrooms and laundries were allequally popular this year at 17 percent.
Overall, renovation activity remained strong through 2018 with half of homeowners on Houzzrenovating (50 percent) an average of three rooms per project, at an overall median spend of$20,000. At the higher end of the market, renovation spend in the 90th percentile reached$180,000. Baby Boomers (ages 55-74) and Gen Xers (ages 40-54) combined represent overthree quarters of the renovation activity (79 percent), at a median spend of $21,000 and$23,000, respectively. Nearly half of renovating homeowners planned to continue or beginrenovations this year (47 percent), with 41 and 35 percent of Gen Xers and Baby Boomers,respectively, anticipating new projects.
"Despite a number of headwinds for the global and national economy, renovation activitycontinued to keep pace in 2018 and will likely experience a robust growth in 2019,” said NinoSitchinava, Ph.D., Houzz principal economist. “Pent up demand continues to drive renovationactivity, while spend on discretionary projects such as kitchens continues to grow, signalingstrength in consumer confidence."
As homeowners consider whether to renovate their current home or to purchase a new home,the top two considerations for renovating are to stay in their current home or area, outrankingreturn on investment. Wanting to stay in the current home is the biggest decision driver for BabyBoomers and Gen Xers, whereas Millennials (ages 25-39) chose to stay in their current homeand renovate because it was more affordable than moving.
Funding Renovation Projects
The majority of renovating homeowners pay for renovations using cash from savings (76percent), followed at a distance by credit cards that can be used anywhere (19 percent) andcash from home mortgage refinance (13 percent). Interestingly, reliance on credit cards ishigher in Millennials than in older generations.
Finding the Right Professional for the Job
Nine in ten renovating homeowners hired a professional in 2018 (90 percent), with electricians,plumbers and carpenters in greatest demand (62, 51 and 40 percent, respectively). BabyBoomers are more likely to hire professional help than Millennials by 10 percent (93 percentversus 83 percent).
Making “Smart” Decisions
Over one in ten homeowners prioritise smart technology during home renovations (12 percent),purchasing products like home assistants, streaming media players and security cameras. BabyBoomers are more likely than Gen Xers and Millennials to rank smart technology as high priority(15 percent versus 10 and 9 percent, respectively), however Millennials are still incorporatingthe most home assistants (22 percent), compared with one in ten Baby Boomers (11 percent).
Improving Energy Efficiency
While improving the design and functionality of a home are the top priorities during renovations,over two in five homeowners prioritise energy efficiency (43 percent), replacing windows andinsulation, for example. This is particularly important for Baby Boomers when compared to GenXers and Millennials (50 percent versus 39 and 36 percent, respectively).
The Final Touch
Nearly two-thirds of renovating homeowners in 2018 also decorated or furnished their home thesame year (65 percent). Millennials were significantly more likely to decorate following homerenovations than Baby Boomers (73 versus 60 percent), purchasing products such as pillows,throws and interior furniture.
The Houzz & Home Survey
The annual Houzz & Home survey is the largest survey of residential renovating, building anddecorating activity published. The survey covers a wide range of renovation projects in 2018,from interior renovations and additions to home systems, exterior upgrades and outdoorprojects. Data gathered includes historical and planned spends, professional involvement,motivations and challenges behind building, renovation and decorating projects, as well asplanned activities for 2019. The 2019 study includes over 8,800 respondents in Australia alone,providing insights into the home improvement activity of the more than 40 million monthlyunique users of the Houzz site and mobile apps.
The Houzz & Home Survey was sent to registered users of Houzz Australia and fielded in April2019.
The full report is available here.
Houzz has over 19 million photos of professionally designed interiors and exteriors, includingcompleted kitchen and bathroom projects, and more than 2.4 million active home renovationand design professionals including architects, interior designers, home builders and design-buildfirms.