Renovation demand rises
- More than half of U.S. homeowners plan to renovate in 2026, continuing a strong renovation cycle. (houston.culturemap.com) - Houzz's 2026 House & Home Study shows over 50% plan renovations, with millennial and Gen Z participation rising. (houston.culturemap.com) - That follows a year where more than half also renovated in 2025, signaling sustained homeowner activity. (houston.culturemap.com)
More than half of U.S. homeowners renovated in 2025, and just over half say they plan to do projects again in 2026. (houzz.com) Houzz’s 2026 U.S. Houzz & Home Study found 54% of homeowners completed renovations in 2025, while 52% said they plan renovations in 2026. The study surveyed 20,358 Houzz users, including 10,176 renovating U.S. homeowners. (houzz.com) The spending picture stayed firm in 2025 even as plans softened slightly for next year. Houzz said median renovation spend held at $20,000 in 2025, while homeowners planning 2026 projects expected a median of $15,000. (houzz.com) Younger owners made up a bigger share of the market. Millennials accounted for 29% of renovating homeowners in 2025, up from 26% a year earlier, and Gen Z rose to 2% from 1%. (houzz.com) Older housing stock is one reason the work keeps coming. The median U.S. home age is now 40 years, according to the National Association of Home Builders, and Houzz said kitchens, bathrooms and other aging spaces continue to drive renovation demand. (nahb.org) (houzz.com) High-end projects also gained ground in 2025. Houzz said the top 10% of renovation budgets reached $140,000 or more, up from $125,000 in 2024, even as the typical project budget stayed flat. (houzz.com) The pipeline still looks full, but not every homeowner is rushing in. In Houzz’s separate 2026 Renovation Plans Report, 14% of surveyed homeowners said they were holding off or canceling, citing reasons including non-urgent projects, timing issues, high prices, budget limits and economic uncertainty. (houzz.com) Builders have been pointing to the same pressure points. The National Association of Home Builders said remodeling activity has been supported by locked-in low mortgage rates and a limited supply of homes for sale, factors that can make fixing up an existing house more practical than moving. (nahb.org) For 2026, the picture is less a boom than a long stretch of steady work: a majority of owners still plan to renovate, but they are budgeting more carefully than they did a year ago. (houzz.com)
