New Houzz Study Points to Five Big Home Improvement Trends

The just-released Houzz & Home Study identifies the top home improvement projects that homeowners did in 2024.

Houzz, the online resource for both professional builders and homeowners, identified five home renovation projects that were the top jobs last year, based on its latest survey of the field.

It found that the overall median spend among homeowners fell to $20,000 in 2024 from its peak of $24,000 in 2023. High-end projects also saw a drop with homeowners in the 90th percentile having spent $140,000 or more on renovations in 2024, down from $150,000 in 2023.

Here’s what else Houzz found out:

1. Renovation Activity Continues, but Spend Decreases
“Despite some decline in spending, home remodeling activity remains strong and within historically high levels. A majority of people who took on home projects tackled renovations (54 percent) in 2024, down slightly from 56 percent in 2023.

“The softening in renovation spend reflects the impact of elevated borrowing costs and the rising prices for everyday goods and services, which limit how much homeowners can allocate toward home improvements,” said Marine Sargsyan, Houzz staff economist.

2. Kitchen Remodel Spending Holds at the High End
Nearly a quarter of renovating homeowners remodeled a kitchen in 2024, while another 2 percent created an addition. The overall median spend on kitchen remodels was $22,000 in 2024, an 8 percent drop compared with $24,000 in 2023 but above the 2022 level of $20,000.

3. Premium Bathroom Upgrades Command Higher Spend
While kitchen projects historically have been the most popular renovation type, the share of homeowners remodeling a guest bathroom matched that of kitchen remodels (24 percent) in 2024, marking a notable shift. But Houzz said that overall median spending on guest bathrooms in 2024 at $6,000 paled in comparison to the overall median spend on primary bathrooms in the same year at $13,000.

4. Baby Boomers and Gen X Remodel Most
Baby Boomers continued to drive home renovations in 2024, accounting for 59 percent of renovating homeowners, a share that increased by three percentage points from 2023. Gen X homeowners accounted for 29 percent of renovators in 2024, down three percentage points from 2023. Millennials were 8 percent of renovating homeowners in 2024, while Gen Zers and seniors accounted for the balance of activity.

5. Cash Is King While Credit Slips
While homeowners overall used diverse funding sources for their 2024 renovations, Houzz discovered that the overwhelming majority (84 percent) tapped into their savings. Credit cards followed at 29 percent, which was a drop of eight percentage points from 2023, suggesting a shift away from credit card financing.

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