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Home improvement has become one of the hottest topics in recent years as home owners took advantage of time spent at home. Adding and renovating homes is not only a way to boost your asset potential but a fun pass time too. In recent reports its been suggested that Americans spent $538 billion on home improvement stores in 2021 alone.1
The reason for the renovation storm may also be in part due to 59% of American homes have been built before 1980.2 With an emphasis on greener living and sustainability some of these older construction methods don’t utilise nature as well as intended. Also the older appeal of the 80’s is not so pleasing to everyones eye so the home owners have loved to spruce up their homes. 27.5% of home owners live in places that are older than 1940’s which you can imagine want to up their properties to the modern era. But what does that mean for retro fit outs? Well they’re still popular for sure, but with a modern touch.
A question so many love to quarrel over is how much does renovating your home actually add to your property? Because its quite a hard number to gauge as many home renovation projects run way over budget but there is still quite a lot of value to be added. A report suggests that when you sell a home after renovation you could make a payback of 59% of renovation cost.3 This asset growth helps to not only make a return on investment for the home owner but also helps to increase the neighborhoods property values.
By 2027 its expected that the home improvement industry could be worth an astonishing $1trillion per year.4 With more and more projects going up and remodelling becomes a much easier process thanks to technology this trend is set to continue. Especially as home buyers are now looking for places that suit their needs rather than purchasing a property and fixing it to their liking. The report goes on to say that the average kitchen remodel costs $22,171 but can earn a return of up to 80% when selling the property.
Although we are talking about industry wide statistics, its also important to see what projects people are actually undertaking. After all if nobody is buying your product then theres not much point in selling it! In a study of 2,000 homeowners across the US they were asked what they had renovated in their home in the past 12 months and these were the results.
Bathrooms and kitchens are always going to be the most popular places to renovate. They’re two rooms in the house that get a lot of use and can always be improved. Something as small as a coat of paint or new appliances can make all the difference. Laundry rooms are a close third with bedroom and attic following behind. These places are usually left until last as they’re not used as frequently but can still make your home much more comfortable.
Theres no doubt that home improvement is here to stay and with good reason. Not only will technology continue to develop and leak into the home improvement space but better quality materials will be in production. Shifting a focus to sustainability is a trend across all industries and the home improvement industry needs to be aware of growing amounts of rubbish and excess plastics.
Theres an opportunity to really hone in on what the customer wants and give them a better experience than ever before. Personalisation is something that is being seen more and more with homebuyers and this needs to be channelled into the home improvement industry. If you can make a product that is bespoke to somebody then theyre much more likely to buy from you. 3D printing is also a technology that is being developed at a rapid pace and could soon be used in construction. This would allow for faster build times, less waste and ultimately lower costs.
The home improvement industry has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. With more money being pumped in and new technology becoming available, theres no telling what could be achieved in the next few years.
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