Homeowner spending on home improvement increased in the past year, particularly among the millennial cohort, according to The Mortgage Reports. While baby boomers and generation X homeowners are more likely to spend on changing design aesthetics of their home, millennials are more likely to spend on improving their property's value, according to the State of Home Spending Report from HomeAdvisor.
Home improvement spending is up 17% and the average homeowner spent more than $9,000 on home projects in just the last year. The average homeowner spend $7,560 on improving their property, $1,105 maintaining it and another $416 on home emergencies. They spent about $5 on improvements for every $1 of maintenance.
Still, though homeowners are spending more on improvement projects, they’re actually doing more maintenance by volume. The average homeowner did nearly seven home maintenance tasks last year compared to just two home improvement projects.
According to Mischa Fisher, chief economist for HomeAdvisor, millennial tendencies to spend on improving value is likely due to age and the fact many are first-time home buyers.
“Many of the millennials who bought a home in the last few years are seeking upgrades to increase the value of their homes and improve aesthetics,” Fisher said. “This focus on return on investment from millennials is likely due to a combination of typical youthful focus on wealth accumulation and their comparatively poorer financial situation driving a hunger to recover relative to their older cohorts.”
Read More
