In 2018, the average total spending on home improvement was $9,081. This includes home improvement, maintenance, and emergencies. HomeAdvisor surveyed approximately 1,500 homeowners to determine spending habits, generational differences and motivations. Below you’ll find a summary of the report findings.
Spending Habits
Home improvement spending grew by 17% in 2018 according to HomeAdvisors 2019 State of Home Spending report. For each dollar spent on home maintenance, $5 was spent on home improvement. Bathroom remodels were ranked as the number one reason for spending on improvement projects for the second consecutive year – replacing repairing home damage as number one. Appliances, roofing, and hardwood floor refinishing are expected to be homeowner priorities in the coming year.
Generational Differences
Millennials are interested in increasing their home’s value and plan home improvement projects accordingly with return on investment in mind. They also use the internet more than any other generation and often do not re-hire a previously used contractor.
Gen Xers seek out project information and big box stores and are motivated to make their homes updated and more modern.
Baby boomers are loyal and likely to repeatedly hire the same contractor for most or all of their projects. Like Gen X, boomers are looking to modernize their home with improvements.
The silent generation is most interested in improving the aesthetic and design on their home with updates. They are more likely to reach out to contractors directly instead of checking big box stores.
Using the Data
Statistics like these may seem irrelevant to your business but they are valuable tools you can use to market and sell to different generations. Looking at trends such as the commonality of bathroom remodels helps you get an idea of what the homeowner population is looking for.
Even though each generation has different motives for spending on their home, they all could benefit from financing due to the increase in spending. Using in-house financing as a tool, you can show prospects how easy it is to fit their project into their monthly budget by breaking down the cost over a period of time with a financing program – which can help you close the sale. FFC offers financing programs for every customer, no matter the generation.
Read more here.