Being very concerned about the lack of affordable housing in our area, I’m constantly researching possible solutions and current and future housing trends. This past month, several media articles have stated that home improvement and remodeling projects are outpacing new home construction. Another hot topic: the increase in the median age of owner-occupied homes. These trends indicate more people are choosing to stay in their homes instead of moving, which naturally has an influence on housing supply.
According to BuildFax, remodeling has increased by about 30 percent over the last five years. Home Depot reported sales increases of 8.4 percent from the second quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2018. Additionally, American Association of Retired Persons surveys report about 90 percent of homeowners approaching retirement wish to age in place in their current homes.
With the median age of owner-occupied currently at 37 years—up from 31 years in 2005—along with the increase in home improvement and maintenance projects, this is an indicator that people are improving their current residences as an alternative to moving. High prices and low inventories make it more desirable to stay put and help keep housing inventories down, along with too few new construction units to meet consumer demand.
This article appears in Aug 22-29, 2018.
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It seems to me that now projects to improve homes are ahead of new construction because the country’s economy has fallen over the past 15 years, and not everyone can afford to build a house now. Naturally, to improve the old house is several times cheaper than to build a new one, because the improvement of houses skipped the construction of new houses. Moreover, now it is very cheap to do a small cosmetic repair, especially if you know where to find cheaper contractor – on such sites as angieslist.com, servicewhale.com, homeadvisor.com.