Fifty-eight percent of homeowners plan to spend money on home improvement projects this year, according to a recent survey by LightStream Home Improvement, a national online lending division of SunTrust Banks Inc.
Outdoor improvements, including decks, patios, and landscaping, remained highest on owners’ to-do lists for the fifth consecutive year. Interior renovations also are popular: Nearly a third of homeowners say they plan to remodel a bathroom, and more than one in four say they plan to update their kitchen.
Many homeowners say they are planning to do some of the renovations themselves, with 65 percent of survey respondents saying they’ll take on at least some of the work. Thirty-five percent of the group say they’ll do the entire project on their own.
Also, budgets for renovations are increasing. Forty-five percent of homeowners who are planning a renovation project say they’re willing to spend $5,000 or more—a record high for the survey. The number of respondents who plan to spend $35,000 or more doubled from 2017.
How do homeowners expect to pay for their remodels?
- Tap into savings: 62 percent
- Use a credit card: 30 percent
- Use home equity line of credit: 13 percent
- Other means: 10 percent
- Home improvement loan: 9 percent
- Liquidate or tap into investments: 5 percent
Source: “Home Improvement Ramps Up in 2018,” The LightStream blog (Feb. 27, 2018)
