Why Homeowners Renovate & What They Care About Most

Here are some of the main reasons homeowners renovated, along with some of their top priorities.

Damage to homes also led to renovation activity last year, with natural disasters driving 6 percent of renovation activity in 2018. In fact, one in eight renovating homeowners reported that his or his home had been damaged by a natural disaster in the previous five years. Water damage from a plumbing or other malfunction was another common source of damage to homes, affecting 15 percent of renovating homeowners over the previous five years.

The No. 1 reason homeowners on Houzz chose to renovate in 2018 rather than buy a more suitable home was wanting to stay in their current home or on their current property (48 percent). A close second was wanting to personalize the home or its features (46 percent). One-third said they wanted to stay in their neighborhood.

Once homeowners made the decision to renovate, their top priorities for the outcome of the renovation were clear. Improving design (88 percent) and functionality (81 percent) drove most of the process. Other priorities were financial considerations, such as increasing resale value (67 percent), minimizing costs (63 percent) and improving energy efficiency (62 percent).

Health, eco-friendly and smart-tech considerations appeal to a subset of renovating homeowners. Thirty-five percent mentioned addressing health concerns as a high priority, 30 percent said integrating green materials was important and 27 percent said integrating smart technology mattered.

Similar-size groups cited these same factors as low priorities. Thirty-five percent said addressing health concerns was a low priority, 27 percent said integrating green materials was, and 33 percent said integrating smart technology was.