• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Home
About Us Contact Us Advertising
Articles
Budgeting Debt Frugal Insurance Investing Making Money Retirement Saving Money
Tips
Money Saving Tips Trash Audit
Make Money Forums Blogs
Create a Blog Control Panel All Entries All Blogs
Tools
Calculators Prescription Drug Coupons Online Savings Accounts Test Your Knowledge Financial Directory Credit Cards

SavingAdvice.com Blog

Bridging the gap between saving money and investing

Subscribe

 

Join Now or Login

  • Home
    • Advertising
  • Tips
    • Money Saving Tips
    • Recycle, Reuse and Repurpose
  • Make Money
  • Credit Score Guide
  • Forums
  • Blogs
    • Create a Blog
  • Tools
  • Financial Basics
    • Back to Basics: Saving Money
    • Back to Basics: Beginners Guide to Retirement
    • Back to Basics: What Every Child Under 10 Should Know About Personal Finance
    • Back to Financial Basics: Investing In Stocks

Over 50% of Homeowners To Spend on Home Improvements in 2018

April 27, 2018 by Jeff Hoyt

Home Improvements in 2018 -- more than 50% of homeowners plan this spendingAre you ready to tackle a home improvement project this year? If so, you have plenty of company. According to the latest LightStream Home Improvement Survey, 58% of Americans are ready to pour money into home improvement projects in 2018.

The percentage of homeowners planning projects is close to 2017’s 59% value, but homeowners are willing to spend more per project in 2018.

Approximately 45% of respondents plan to spend $5,000 or more on their projects, the highest percentage in the survey’s five-year lifetime.

Larger home projects are booming, as the percentage of homeowners planning to spend over $35,000 doubled from 2017.

Staying in Homes Longer

“From millennials to seniors, every age group is planning projects to stay in their homes longer,” said LightStream Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships Todd Nelson. “In fact, only seven percent of people are remodeling to put their homes up for sale. That’s the smallest number we’ve seen since we started the survey.”

The survey results suggest that economic optimism appears to be taking hold, and the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has factored into that optimism for some homeowners.

One quarter of respondents that had created a budget for their renovations altered that budget due to tax reform, with 18% increasing their budget.

Most Popular Renovations

What’s the most popular area of the home to be renovated? Outdoor projects take the overall prize, with 43% planning deck, patio or landscaping renovations and another 5% renovating pools. Bathroom and kitchen remodels are close behind at 31% and 26% respectively.

While home improvement spending may be on the increase, labor costs may not rise proportionately. According to the survey results, the do-it-yourself impulse is strong.

Just under two thirds of respondents plan to do at least some of their own project work, and 35% plan to handle the entire project on their own. Millennials (ages 18-34) lead the do-it-yourself charge with 70% expecting to tackle some portion of the project work themselves. Lighting is also something many homeowners are upgrading or adding for accents. Illuminating the outside of the house, over the garage, and adding accent lighting to the inside of the home doesn’t have to expensive. For some ideas, check out these galvanized lights.

How They’re Funding Projects

A significant majority of renovators (62%) plan to pay for at least part of their home renovation with savings. Credit cards will be used by 30% of homeowners to finance renovation projects, while 13% expect to use a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and 9% plan to take out a home improvement loan.

Because of the relatively high interest rates on credit cards, it’s best to avoid them for funding all but small projects that you can pay off at the end of each month. A HELOC or home improvement loan may be a better choice if you have to borrow.

Home improvement loans are well suited for large projects with detailed milestones that the lender can review and approve. A HELOC is a more flexible line of credit that you can use as needed without having to supply the lender any details on the specific project.

Should You HELOC?

Which is better for you? A HELOC is a popular choice if you have significant equity in your home, but there are other factors to consider.

Greg McBride, chief financial analyst from Bankrate.com, reminds us that with a HELOC, “because you’re securing the loan with the equity that you have in your home, you’re getting a lower interest rate.”

The trade-off for that security is that your home is vulnerable should you default on the HELOC. Defaulting on an unsecured home improvement loan will harm your credit, but it won’t cost you your home.

Ask Your Lender

Ask your lender for details on your specific lending options in order to make the best decision.

If you are planning a home project in 2018, we wish you good luck. Remember that all projects require planning and forethought to avoid mission creep and cost overruns.

Stay focused, stay within your budget, and know when to call in the professionals. If you don’t know which breaker to turn off, where the sewer line is buried, or where the gas shutoff is, prepare to take out your wallet.

This article was provided by our partners at moneytips.com. Photo ©iStockphoto.com/andresr

Read More About Real Estate

  • What’s the Real Estate Value of the Vatican?
  • 3 Key Tips to Follow When You’re Entering the Real Estate Market
  • Online Real Estate Agents: The Future of Real Estate
  • The Fastest and Safest Way to Real Estate Wealth
  • 10 Vital Housing Questions That Real Estate Listings Can’t Answer
  • Should You Invest in Stocks or Real Estate?
  • Real Estate – The Ultimate Forced Savings Plan

Also, readers, if reading our blog posts make you want to try your hand at blogging yourself, we have good news for you: You can do exactly that right here on Saving Advice. Just click here to get started.

Reader Interactions

What did you think about this article?
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    • Articles
    • Tips
    • Make Money
    • Credit Score Guide
    • Forums
    • Blogs
    • Tools
    • About
    • Contact

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
    Your subscription has been successful.
    Copyright © 2025 SavingAdvice.com. All Rights Reserved.
    • Privacy Policy