Bathroom Remodeling is the #1 Pandemic Project
Dec 11, 2020Remodeling Projects are trending up
Earlier this summer, we spotted a trend toward increased home improvement activity during the 2020 pandemic. This month, we’re learning that the trend is holding true. Qualified Remodeler magazine recently reported about an extensive home services study completed by HomeAdvisor. With 5,000 homeowners surveyed, the results shed a lot of light on home improvement during the pandemic year.
Bathrooms & Budgets
Overall, the report found that bathroom remodeling was the room remodeling project most often undertaken during 2020. Thirty percent of surveyed households remodeled a bathroom this year. Other popular projects were painting and flooring replacement. For the most part, the report indicates that homeowners took on home improvements during the pandemic based on the desire to have their home better fit their needs.
“People were more concerned about homes suiting their lifestyle needs than they were about simply replacing something damaged or getting a high return on investment,” says Mischa Fisher, chief economist for HomeAdvisor. “Those latter two reasons are still important to consumers, but this year lifestyle is also extremely important.”
Indeed, 2020 caused a major shift in how people use their homes, with dramatic increases in working and learning from home. The HomeAdvisor survey found that 85% of Americans spent more time at home because of Covid-19, with 67% saying they spent “significantly more” time at home. As a result, 63% of homeowners said they noticed more areas around their homes that needed to be updated.
And with significantly less time spent traveling, eating out, and seeking entertainment outside the home, the HomeAdvisor study found that homeowners were shifting unused budgets back toward home improvements like bathroom remodels and window replacements. A third of respondents (33%) shifted their commuting budgets; nearly half (48%) shifted their vacation budgets; and more than half (52%) shifted their restaurant budgets back to home services.
Locking in Cost Savings
Homeowners that opted to shift their dining and travel budgets to home improvements made a choice in favor of their happiness at home – but might not realize that change will also benefit their pocketbooks.
Overall, the HomeAdvisor survey found that home improvement costs rose year-over-year. In 2020, homeowners spent an average of $8,305 on home improvements, compared with $7,560 spent in 2019. This 9% increase was partly driven by homeowners having discretionary funds available, and being willing to spend it on their homes. However, Fisher also notes that “the cost to do projects compared to last year did increase” due to increased material and labor costs.
In general, pricing for large projects like bathroom remodels and window replacements increases 4-5% annually based on numbers from Remodeling magazine’s annual Cost vs. Value Report. With that in mind, homeonwers that invested in their bath remodels or other projects in 2020 actually saved themselves the additional price increases of putting off home improvements.
This is an approach the team at Improveit can get behind. Our down-to-the-penny quotes on your bathroom remodeling and window replacement projects are good for a full year, so booking an appointment today for a free consultation will lock in your cost savings for a full year!
Find Inspiration Here
If your time at home during the 2020 pandemic has highlighted some areas of your home that you’d like to improve, give us a call today! Looking for inspiration? Here are several walk-in shower, aging-in-place, and full bathroom remodels we completed during the pandemic!
Blake & Laura Williams – Walk-In Shower Remodel – Upper Arlington, OH
Alan Lancaster – Full Bathroom Remodel – Pickerington, OH
Gary & Melody McCardle – Master Bathroom Remodel – Etna, OH
Charles & Josephine Wiseman – Aging-in-Place Shower Remodel – Marion, OH
