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Homeowners are showing a clear preference for renovating and improving their homes rather than purchasing something new. There is quite the anticipated spike in the projected home remodeling spend for 2019.

Do most people feel at home in their homes? We will delve into this topic, as well as why people renovate their homes and what the most common home renovation projects are in this article.

Home Isn’t Always At Home

Home is traditionally thought of as a place of comfort. It’s the ultimate destination to unwind and feel, well, at home. But that’s not always the case.

According to IKEA’s Beyond Four Walls: A New Era of Life at Home report, 1 in 3 (33%) people say there are other places where they feel more at home than the space they live in. The number of people who feel at home more at a location other than home has increased—in 2016, 20% of people felt this way.

This study, released in the fall of 2018, examined why people don’t feel at home when they are at home. Much of the study was devoted to the five core needs that researchers identified.

The five core needs connected to the home are:

• Privacy: feeling in control of where and how you can disconnect and reflect

• 77%  feel like they have privacy of those who live with family or alone

• 45% feel like they have privacy of those who live with friends or strangers

• Security: feeling safe and grounded wherever you are

• 76% feel like they have security of those who live with family or alone

• 45% feel like they have security of those who live with friends or strangers

• Comfort: feeling content and at ease in your surroundings

• 74% feel like they have comfort of those who live with family or alone

• 45% feel like they have comfort of those who live with friends or strangers

• Ownership: having a sense of control over the space and place where you live

• 62% feel like they have ownership of those who live with family or alone

• 34% feel like they have ownership of those who live with friends or strangers

• Belonging: feeling like part of a group of people who accept you for what you are and in places that reflect you

• 57% feel like they have belonging of those who live with family or alone

• 4% feel like they have belonging of those who live with friends or strangers

Key Insight: Almost half of consumers (43%) don’t feel like they have a sense of belonging at their homes and nearly 4 in 10 don’t feel like they have ownership of the space in which they live. This could be because more than half of the nation’s households are headed by someone at least 50 years of age. Also, multigenerational living arrangements are more common than not in the U.S.

Reasons to Reno

Of course, some people may not feel at home because their home needs some work. The median age of a home in the U.S. is 37. Half of all U.S. homes were built before 1980, so perhaps one’s home needs some TLC before a person feels at home.

Millennials are the largest group of homebuyers today, according to the Pins and Properties Chasing Your Dream Home study from Chase and Pinterest released in fall 2018. This study found that 87% of Millennials are planning a home renovation. 68% estimate they will spend at least $20,000 on their renovation.

There are five common reasons home owners decide to renovate.

• 42% Wanted a new look

• 21% Naturally worn

• 18% Damages

• 16% Just bought/moved

• 3% Selling the home

Key Insight: Homeowners are showing a strong preference for improving their current living space rather than buying a new house. In other words, people want to stay put. Less than 20% of the top reasons for doing a reno have to do with purchasing a home.

Top Reno Projects

U.S. consumers spent $196 billion on home renovations in 2018. Home remodeling spend is projected to increase 7% in 2019.

So which projects are consumers spending their home improvement dollars on? The top five home improvement projects are:

• 43% Outdoor

• 31% Bathroom

• 28% Home Repair

• 26% Kitchen Remodel

• 16% Garage

Which rooms do homeowners prefer to renovate? Home remodeling and design social media platform Houzz released their 2018 Houzz and Home study in summer 2018.  According to its findings, the most popular rooms to renovate and the average budget per room are:

• 29% Kitchen

Average budget: $11,000

• 25% Guest/Other Bathroom

Average budget: data not available

• 22% Master Bathroom

Average budget: data not available

• 22% Living/Family Room

Average budget: $3,000

• 15% Guest/Other Bedroom

Average budget: $1,000

• 15% Dining Room

Average budget: $1,200

• 14% Master Bedroom

Average budget: $2,000

• 14% Closet

Average budget: $500

• 13% Laundry Room

Average budget: $1,500

• 10% Home Office

Average budget: $$1,200

We summarized several key findings from the 2018 Houzz and Home study in our The Reno Landscape 2018 blog. We will publish an updated Reno Landscape of 2019 article once the data is available.

Key Insight: Home remodeling is hot. Homeowners are tackling most rooms in their homes with priority to the kitchen and bathrooms.