Home improvement is the process of improving and updating a house or apartment. It can involve simple maintenance tasks such as painting or replacing floor coverings, to major remodels such as adding an addition or upgrading a kitchen. Home improvements may also include landscaping and installing a pool. Homeowners may try to improve their homes for resale or simply to enjoy them more. Regardless of the motivation, home improvements can be expensive and time consuming.
About 3 in 5 homeowners (61%) say they’ve taken on home improvement projects during the pandemic, according to a NerdWallet survey of people who completed projects between March 1 and September 30. The most popular projects have been converting an extra bedroom into a home office or renovating the kitchen, according to the American Housing Survey (AHS).
When it comes to planning for future home improvements, most people don’t plan to boost their houses’ value in order to sell them. Only 20% of those who are considering such projects say it’s to make their houses more attractive to buyers, while 54% cite other reasons such as making their home more comfortable for themselves or feeling more satisfied with their home.
Most homeowners don’t have a deep well to draw from for paying for such projects, however. About 20% of those who took on these projects in the past two years had to cut back on other spending or even sell items to pay for them, while 12% used their emergency savings and 8% went into debt.