“Should I stay or should I go?” The answer for many homeowners these days appears to be to stay, according to the just-released 2023 U.S. Houzz & Home Study. The majority of homeowners who responded to our survey remodeled or decorated their home in 2022, and plan to remain in their home for 11 years or more following the renovation. More than half also are planning home projects in the coming year.

“Faced with shortages of housing stock and high interest rates, we’re seeing homeowners update their current home to make the space more functional for the long term,” says Liza Hausman, vice president of industry marketing at Houzz. “We’re also seeing an uptick in additions, with the vast majority of homeowners hiring professionals to achieve their goals.”

In addition to showing new highs for renovation activity, the report also shares that spending is on the rise and kitchens and bathrooms are getting larger. See more about those findings and other home remodeling and decorating trends from the new study below.

1. Renovation Activity Continues
The majority of homeowners (58%) tackled a renovation project in 2022. Plus, more homeowners decorated in 2022 (57%) than in 2021 (55%). And the share of homeowners who made home repairs (48%) and built new homes (5%) also rose 2 points each year over year.

Meanwhile, the median spend continues to increase too. The national median renovation spend per household increased from $18,000 in 2021 to $22,000 in 2022.

For homeowners with a larger budget (the top 10% of spend), the spend rose from $100,000 in 2021 to $140,000 or more in 2022.

Keep in mind that the median spend throughout the study is not adjusted for inflation. Also keep in mind that the median means that half of the people spent more and half spent less; it’s not the average. Economists like to reference the median, or midpoint, figure rather than the average because the average can be skewed, can be volatile year over year and can be misleadingly high or low because of a single project that costs far more or less than others.

The study gathered these median spending costs and other details from more than 46,000 homeowners who responded to survey questions. The projects reported were handled with the help of pros, were DIY or combined the two approaches.

You can tell your clients what they can expect to spend on a home project using Houzz Pro, which enables professionals to create accurate project estimates using local cost data. Houzz Pro also lets pros share with clients photos, files, proposals, mood boards, 3D floor plans and more.

2. Plans to Renovate Also Continue
Many homeowners have future home projects in mind. More than half (55%) plan to renovate in 2023. And nearly half (48%) have decorating projects on the horizon, as well as home repairs (35%) and homebuilding projects (3%).

The median planned spend on 2023 renovations is $15,000, the same as it was in 2022. Homeowners with higher-budget projects (the top 10% of spend) plan to spend $85,000 in 2023, up $10,000 (from $75,000) in 2022.

But it’s worth pointing out that many home remodeling and design professionals expect slowed growth in 2023, following strong years in 2022 and 2021, according to the 2023 Houzz U.S. State of the Industry report.

3. More Projects Command Higher Spend
The share of homeowners spending more than $50,000 is steadily increasing — 32% in 2022 compared with 26% in 2021 and 20% in 2020.

Meanwhile, the share spending less than $10,000 is steadily declining — 24% in 2022 compared with 30% in 2021 and 35% in 2020.

4. Homeowners Rely on Diverse Funding Methods
When it comes to paying for a home project, cash from savings remains by far the most common funding source (82%). But homeowners do tap into a variety of sources. The share of those who secured a home loan in 2022 to tackle a home project ticked up slightly, going from 14% in 2021 to to 16% in 2022.

Cash from a home sale is steadily growing in popularity as a funding source — 13% used this source in 2022, compared with 11% in 2021 and 9% in 2020.

Credit cards, on the other hand, are becoming less popular. The share of homeowners using credit cards to fund home projects dropped 10 points year over year, to 28% in 2022.

5. Motivation of Selling Declines in Popularity
Nearly 3 in 5 homeowners (61%) plan to stay in their home for 11 years or more following a 2022 renovation. And the share of homeowners tackling a remodel with a plan to soon sell their home has steadily declined since 2018. Only 6% of renovating homeowners cited selling their home as a motivation to renovate in 2022, compared with 9% in 2021 and 12% in 2018.

The top two reasons homeowners tackled a home project in 2022 were finally having the time and finally having the financial means, both at 37%.

6. Top Challenges Remain Consistent
The vast majority of homeowners (92%) continue to report renovation challenges. Finding the right service providers remains the top challenge (33%), followed by finding the right products (28%).

Staying on budget is an increasing concern, with 27% citing it for 2022 projects, compared with 23% in 2020. So is staying on schedule (21% in 2022 compared with 18% in 2020).

And nearly a fifth of homeowners reported dealing with unexpected circumstances.

7. More Homeowners Are Expanding Living Spaces
After four years of steady expansion activity, the share of renovating homeowners adding square footage has increased. One in 10 homeowners expanded a living space with an add-on in 2022, compared with 8% each year from 2018 through 2021. The average number of addition projects undertaken also has increased, from fewer than three in both 2020 and 2021 to more than three in 2022.

Consistent with previous years, interior spaces are the most popular to renovate (72%), and homeowners tackle an average of nearly three interior projects at a time. Home system and exterior upgrades also are popular, while the share of homeowners renovating outdoor spaces continues to decline —57% in 2020,54% in 2021 and 51% in 2022.

8. More Kitchens and Bathrooms Are Getting Bigger
Kitchen and bathroom remodels remained the top renovation projects homeowners tackled in 2022. In fact, an even larger share of homeowners upgraded kitchens and bathrooms (30% and 27%, respectively) than in 2021 (28% and 25%, respectively).

More homeowners in 2022 expanded these spaces with additions than in the previous year.

While the median spend for renovations of several types of interior rooms rose in 2022, the increase is especially notable for home office remodels. The median spend for those reached $2,000, compared with $1,200 in 2021.

9. New Highs for Kitchen and Bathroom Spend
The median spend on kitchen and primary bathroom remodels has increased steadily during the past three years.

In 2022, the median spend for kitchens reached $20,000. And homeowners with a kitchen larger than 200 square feet spent 22% more on a major kitchen remodel in 2022 versus 2021. (A major kitchen remodel is one in which at least all the cabinets and appliances are replaced.)

In 2022, the median spend for primary bathrooms reached $13,500. The median spend on major primary bathroom remodels — in which at least the vanities, countertops and toilets are replaced — increased by $5,000 year over year for primary bathrooms of all sizes.

10. Electrical Upgrades See Jolt in Popularity
When it comes to home system upgrades, homeowners continue to focus on plumbing, electrical and automation systems. Nearly 3 in 10 homeowners upgraded plumbing in 2022, followed closely by electrical (28%) and home automation (25%). Interestingly, electrical upgrades increased by 4 percentage points in 2022 after remaining stable at 24% for the previous two years.

The median spend for these upgrades increased considerably between 2021 and 2022.

Among typical home system upgrades, cooling and heating systems commanded the highest median spend in 2022 — $5,500 and $5,000, respectively — and are undertaken by more than 1 in 5 renovating homeowners.

11. Priorities for Exterior Projects Shift
Upgrades to windows and paint are now the most popular exterior projects (21% each), knocking roofing upgrades (20%) from the top position it held in 2021.

The median spend on exterior paint projects reached $2,000 in 2022. For gutters and downspouts, the median spend reached $1,500; for exterior door upgrades, $1,700; and for insulation projects, $1,000.

12. Landscape Upgrades Remain Steady
Despite the overall decline in the number of homeowners renovating outdoor spaces mentioned earlier, homeowners are continuing to upgrade certain kinds of outdoor structures and systems at a steady pace.

More than a quarter of renovating homeowners (28%) upgraded beds and borders in 2022. Lawn upgrades and patio or terrace upgrades also were popular.

For outdoor systems, the top three projects for the past seven years have remained lighting (22%), security (16%) and irrigation (14%).

13. Pro Hiring Increases
Even more homeowners have joined the overwhelming majority in coming to one conclusion: In most cases, it’s necessary to get professional help with a home project. More than 9 in 10 renovating homeowners (91%) relied on professional help for their renovation projects in 2022; the percentage is up 2 points year over year.

While homeowners hired specialty service providers most frequently, construction professionals (such as general contractors and kitchen or bathroom remodelers) also were popular. In fact, the share of homeowners who relied on construction pros grew by 6 percentage points in 2022 compared with the previous year.

Design-related pros saw the same increase in hiring; the share of homeowners choosing them grew from 20% in 2021 to 26% in 2022.

14. More Homeowners Enlist Specialty Service Pros
A larger share of renovating homeowners hired electricians, air conditioning and heating specialists, and plumbers in 2022 than in the previous year.

General contractors remain the most frequently hired pros (72%), followed by builders (30%) and kitchen or bath remodelers (20%).

More than 3 in 5 renovating homeowners who hired design-related pros in 2022 relied on interior designers. Architects (32%) and landscape architects or designers (28%) are other popular types of design-related pros.