Virksomhedsnyheder
Palo Alto, Calif., April 9, 2013 -- Significantly more Canadian homeowners say the economy is no longer delaying their home remodeling plans, compared to the same time last year, according to the second annual Houzz & Home survey that garnered more than 100,000 responses from the Houzz community of 14 million monthly unique users. Among all countries surveyed, Canadian homeowners are the least impacted by the economy when it comes to home remodeling plans, with only 16 percent reporting a significant impact.
The 2013 Houzz & Home survey is the largest survey of remodeling and decorating activity ever conducted, covering historical and planned projects, the motivations behind these projects, and the impact of the economy on home building, renovation and decorating plans among Houzz users across Canada and around the world. The study yielded detailed data at the national and regional level, which Houzz used to examine differences in priorities and spending.
The number of Canadian homeowners who say they will delay their projects because of the economy has dropped a full 16 points to 37 percent from 53 percent last year - an even bigger drop than in the U.S., where homeowners delaying projects decreased to 45 percent from 52 percent last year. A majority of homeowners in Canada (60 percent) are more likely to cut back in other areas, such as vacations and other big-ticket purchases, rather than delay or decrease budgets for their home plans. Another positive sign is that 55 percent of those planning projects in the next two years said they will hire professional help. However, 34 percent of respondents surveyed say they would need to take out a line of credit to finance their home renovations, compared to 14 percent last year.
Canadian homeowners are more likely than their U.S. counterparts to remodel to increase the value of their homes, with 60 percent citing “increasing home value” as a key driver versus 54 percent in the U.S. More Canadian homeowners than U.S. homeowners also cited improving the organization/storage of their homes as a key motivation for recent projects (48 percent as compared to 42 percent). Yet less than half (48 percent) of homeowners believe that now is a good time to buy a home (compared to 75 percent in the U.S. and 56 percent in the UK).
“We’ve collected an unprecedented volume of data from the community, and we are pleased to share the synthesis and findings with everyone looking to renovate or decorate their home,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of community for Houzz. “This data will enable us to empower the community with powerful resources they can use to make better decisions around building, remodeling and design projects.”
Bathrooms and kitchens top Canadian homeowners’ renovation project lists, with 25 percent of respondents planning a bathroom remodel or addition, and 21 percent planning a kitchen remodel or addition in the next two years. In terms of dollars spent, kitchens command the lion’s share, a finding consistent with priorities in the U.S. Over the last five years, nearly four in ten home improvement dollars have gone into kitchens and survey data indicates future spend is likely to follow the same trend.
Over the last five years, homeowners on average spent $24,912 (CAD) to remodel their kitchens, however spending varies widely at different budget levels. Homeowners spent an average of $49,485 nationwide for a high-end kitchen, $20,428 for a mid-range kitchen, and $6,491 for a lower-budget kitchen. Regionally, Quebec leads high-end remodeling with 30 percent of kitchen renovations executed at the high-end, compared with the Canadian average of 26 percent. Canadians are less likely to build high-end bathrooms, with only 22 percent renovating at the high-end. While more than a third of respondents (33 percent), stuck to their remodeling budget, 40 percent of homeowners reported going over budget, consistent with homeowners in the U.S.
Other Key Findings:
- Spending more time in a room does not necessarily correlate with decorating dollars. Homeowners report spending the most time in their family/TV rooms, but not the most money there. Nobody was willing to admit to spending significant time in their bathroom – but apparently the time we do spend there is worth significant investment as well. The percentage of money spent on kitchens and bathrooms far exceeds the percentage of time spent in these spaces. Similar trends were seen in the U.S., UK , Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.
- A majority of the homeowners surveyed who are planning to complete a project in the next two years will hire a general contractor (55 percent) followed by a kitchen/bath professional (38 percent) and a carpet/flooring professional (34 percent). More Canadians plan to hire an interior designer (24 percent), fireplace professional (17 percent) and interior designer (24 percent) than their U.S. counterparts.
- When it comes to hiring a professional for their project, 70 percent of homeowners surveyed rated “A personality I can work with” as a 5 (very important) on a 5-point scale.
- 34 percent of Canadian homeowners cited making their home more energy efficient as a key driver for completing their most recent project, lower than their European counterparts (52 percent in Ireland, for example), and just above U.S. homeowners (33 percent).
You can download the full report here.
About Houzz
Houzz is the leading online platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish - online or from a mobile device. From decorating a room to building a custom home, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community powered by social tools, Houzz is the easiest way for people to get the design inspiration, project advice, product information and professional reviews they need to help turn ideas into reality. For more information, visit www.houzz.com