The Most Popular Spaces to Renovate and Their Costs
The 2018 Houzz & Home Study reveals that kitchens are still the top project. Master baths edge out living/family rooms
If you’re planning a renovation, which rooms in your home top the list to tackle? Kitchens and bathrooms remained top concerns for many homeowners, according to the 2018 Houzz & Home Study, which collected information from more than 72,000 Houzz users who renovated their primary home last year. Read on to see what projects they did and get midrange renovation spending levels room by room.
Most Popular Rooms to Renovate and Their Perceived Return on Investment
Kitchens and bathrooms topped the list. Kitchens were the single most popular room to renovate, with guest (or other nonmaster) bathrooms second most popular. That’s been true for the last three years.
Kitchens and bathrooms topped the list. Kitchens were the single most popular room to renovate, with guest (or other nonmaster) bathrooms second most popular. That’s been true for the last three years.
Master bathrooms gained more attention. But in 2017 a new room moved up to take the No. 3 spot: master bathrooms. This room, renovated by 24 percent of renovating homeowners, just edged out living or family rooms, which were revamped by 23.6 percent of renovating homeowners.
We don’t have a research-grounded explanation for why master bathrooms became more popular to renovate last year, but if the popularity of our stories on the topic are any indication, people like luxurious, spa-like bathrooms. “The bathroom is, for most clients, the first room they step into in the morning and it really sets the mood for the rest of the day,” says Michelle Fee of Change Your Bathroom in Atlanta.
The median (or midpoint) spend for master bathroom remodels was $7,000 in 2017, flat with the year before. The median spend for a master bath remodel where at least the cabinetry, vanity, countertops and toilet were replaced was $16,000 for spaces over 100 square feet and $10,000 for spaces less than 100 square feet.
The rise in master bathroom renovations also coincided with increased spending on master bedrooms, up 33 percent in 2017 to a median annual spending level of $2,000 (see graph later in story).
“I think it is fair to say that a typical American household has come to expect a master suite as part of a well-designed home,” says Nino Sitchinava, principal economist at Houzz. “The reality today, however, is that many older homes do not have master suites or have master suites significantly out of date. With baby boomers driving renovations today, it is only natural that the attention is shifting to these private corners of the home and away from family spaces.”
We don’t have a research-grounded explanation for why master bathrooms became more popular to renovate last year, but if the popularity of our stories on the topic are any indication, people like luxurious, spa-like bathrooms. “The bathroom is, for most clients, the first room they step into in the morning and it really sets the mood for the rest of the day,” says Michelle Fee of Change Your Bathroom in Atlanta.
The median (or midpoint) spend for master bathroom remodels was $7,000 in 2017, flat with the year before. The median spend for a master bath remodel where at least the cabinetry, vanity, countertops and toilet were replaced was $16,000 for spaces over 100 square feet and $10,000 for spaces less than 100 square feet.
The rise in master bathroom renovations also coincided with increased spending on master bedrooms, up 33 percent in 2017 to a median annual spending level of $2,000 (see graph later in story).
“I think it is fair to say that a typical American household has come to expect a master suite as part of a well-designed home,” says Nino Sitchinava, principal economist at Houzz. “The reality today, however, is that many older homes do not have master suites or have master suites significantly out of date. With baby boomers driving renovations today, it is only natural that the attention is shifting to these private corners of the home and away from family spaces.”
Homeowners believe kitchen and bathroom projects will have a positive ROI. Improving a home’s resale value was an important consideration for many renovating homeowners (67 percent) last year. And four in five renovating homeowners reported that renovating kitchens (83 percent) and master bathrooms (81 percent) would have a positive effect on a home’s resale value.
This chart shows how much homeowners predicted that a renovation of a particular room would boost their home’s value — light green for a 1 percent to 49 percent return on investment (ROI), medium green for a 50 percent to 99 percent ROI and the brightest green for a 100 percent or greater ROI. Since very few of those surveyed have actually sold their homes, these numbers reflect homeowners’ perceptions rather than any concrete financial gain.
This chart shows how much homeowners predicted that a renovation of a particular room would boost their home’s value — light green for a 1 percent to 49 percent return on investment (ROI), medium green for a 50 percent to 99 percent ROI and the brightest green for a 100 percent or greater ROI. Since very few of those surveyed have actually sold their homes, these numbers reflect homeowners’ perceptions rather than any concrete financial gain.
How Much Homeowners Spend on Indoor Spaces
Kitchen remodel spending jumped 10 percent. The median spend on kitchen renovations rose to $11,000 in 2017, up 10 percent from $10,000 in 2016. (The median is the midpoint in a range of data, and here it means half of renovating homeowners spent more and half spent less. Economists like using the median because it avoids skewing, as can happen with a plain “average” or “mean” when a few pricey outlier costs inflate the mean to a misleading high.)
Kitchen remodel spending jumped 10 percent. The median spend on kitchen renovations rose to $11,000 in 2017, up 10 percent from $10,000 in 2016. (The median is the midpoint in a range of data, and here it means half of renovating homeowners spent more and half spent less. Economists like using the median because it avoids skewing, as can happen with a plain “average” or “mean” when a few pricey outlier costs inflate the mean to a misleading high.)
Major kitchen remodel spending rose. The growth in spending on kitchens for 2017 was largely driven by an increased spend for remodels of kitchens 200 square feet or larger. As this chart shows, the median spending level for a remodel of a large kitchen in which at least all the cabinets and appliances were replaced jumped to $33,000 in 2017, up from $30,000 in 2016. That shift raised the median spend for kitchens overall.
Median spend on other interior rooms ranged from $500 to $3,000. This graph shows the median amount that renovating homeowners spent in 2017 on interior rooms other than kitchens and bathrooms. Perhaps not surprisingly, renovating homeowners spent significantly less on closet and family room renovations than they did on kitchen or bathroom renovations.
How Homeowners Improve Their Exteriors
Improving curb appeal. More renovating homeowners made improvements to exteriors last year; the six most-popular projects all increased in frequency by at least 2 percentage points compared with 2016. The most popular exterior improvements in 2017 were exterior paint (23 percent), windows or skylights (22 percent), exterior doors (21 percent), roofing (21 percent), gutters or downspouts (19 percent) and decks (15 percent).
Improving curb appeal. More renovating homeowners made improvements to exteriors last year; the six most-popular projects all increased in frequency by at least 2 percentage points compared with 2016. The most popular exterior improvements in 2017 were exterior paint (23 percent), windows or skylights (22 percent), exterior doors (21 percent), roofing (21 percent), gutters or downspouts (19 percent) and decks (15 percent).
Outdoor upgrades were as popular as some indoor spaces. In fact, just as many homeowners (15 percent) tackled their patios or fences as upgraded laundry rooms. Nearly as many renovated their shed or workshop (10 percent) as renovated a home office (11 percent).
Download the full study here
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Download the full study here
More
How Much People Spent on Home Renovations in 2017
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