Renovate Rather than Buy: American Homeowners

A new study offers encouraging news for the building trade when it comes to home repairs and remodeling.

The steep decline in new home starts is a well-known fact that is creating issues for the construction and building sector, but U.S. homeowners may be offering some good news for the trade: they are planning to do more home renovations instead of moving.

A new study from Discover Home Loans reports that more than half (55 percent) of American homeowners would rather renovate their current home, instead of moving to a new home (24 percent) or keeping their home “as is” (21 percent).

In fact, Discover found that 57 percent of survey respondents either have a home improvement project underway or are planning such a project within the next year. Among those who are planning home improvement projects, nearly nine of ten want to make cosmetic changes to reflect their personal style; about eight of ten want to use home improvements as an investment opportunity; and about three-quarters want to upgrade home features in need of repair.

Close to 85 percent of the survey respondents cited inflation as the big factor impacting their housing choices with more than half saying they have put their house hunting on hold pending a decline in rates. So the builder trade needs to be patient. “When the Fed does gain confidence that inflation is under control, rate decreases are likely to be modest and gradual,” said Rob Cook, vice president of marketing at Discover.  “In the meantime, the housing market may remain sluggish. Consumers should reset their expectations and budgets accordingly.”

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