You Complete Me: New Homebuyer Remodeling Activities May Surprise You

Each year, Home Innovation Research Labs surveys more than 100,000 U.S. and Canadian households and get very detailed information on their home remodeling, repairs, and upgrades. You may assume that most remodeling or home improvement activities are conducted primarily by those who’ve either been in their house a long time and are looking for/need a change, or those who recently bought an existing home and want to do things to make it more “their own.” Our robust consumer data challenges that assumption.

Owner Occupied Households Spending Money on Remodeling, Improvements or Repairs, 2016

Source: Home Innovation Research Labs, Inc.; Annual Builder Practices Survey

Among the homeowners on our panel who made home improvements in the past year, painting or adding wallpaper was the most common improvement activity across the board, but was particularly popular among those who bought existing homes. But many made other more substantive improvements, as well. And, interestingly, those who bought newly-constructed homes were most likely to add outdoor structures like decks – a pretty major undertaking, and perhaps a somewhat counterintuitive one, for someone who is still enjoying that “new home smell.”

But that’s not the only interesting trend we’ve seen. When we looked at our data for the last two years, we found that compared to buyers of existing homes, buyers of new homes were…

Three times as likely to build a garage or carport
Twice as likely to build an addition with living space
Twice as likely to build a storage building, workshop, barn, or other building
Twice as likely to add radiant floor heating (primarily to a bathroom)
70% more likely to finish a basement
70% more likely to make outdoor improvements (decks, porches, fences, walkways, gazebos, etc.)
50% more likely to upgrade kitchen ventilation

This data helps reveal lots of potential marketing opportunities for manufacturers. We can help you better identify and understand the best opportunities for your product development, deployment, and marketing efforts. Our decades-deep understanding of both the new construction and remodeling markets can help you get to the answers you need for a fraction of what other companies without this knowledge base may charge. Contact us today for more information.