COVID-19 Pandemic Update: Home Improvement Projects Impacted by Coronavirus

COVID-19 pandemic update: home improvement projects impacted by coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted home improvement projects. New insights from Houzz reveal how coronavirus is changing home renovation.

The COVID-19 pandemic put much of our daily lives at a standstill. Everything from buying, selling and home improvement projects has stalled. We stopped going out for dinner and drinks, canceled travel plans, postponed important family events and stayed home to protect ourselves and others.

The latest research from Houzz takes a look at what happened with home improvement projects that were underway when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. Then, Houzz asks which home improvements homeowners are dreaming of making after spending so much time at home sheltering-in-place.

COVID-19 Pandemic Update: Home Improvement Projects Impacted by Coronavirus

Surprisingly, more than half of homeowners (52 percent) who were in the midst of a home improvement project were able to continue with their renovation after the coronavirus was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Only one percent of homeowners canceled an ongoing project. Of the remaining 47 percent who put their home improvement project on hold, 40 percent of them felt their project wasn’t urgent and could resume at a later date.

There were some regional differences when it came to deciding to postpone or continue with renovation projects. Homeowners in the south and west were the most likely to carry on with current projects (64 percent and 56 percent, respectively), whereas homeowners in the midwest and northeast regions were less likely to move forward (40 percent and 37 percent, respectively).

“Homeowners and the professionals working on their projects are taking health concerns very seriously. While many projects have continued during this time, the northeast region was most affected, which is not surprising given the pandemic’s significant impact in that area,” said Marine Sargsyan, Houzz senior economist.

Home Improvement Projects Inspired by Sheltering-In-Place

While they’ve been sheltering-in-place, homeowners have spent more time cooking and baking (52 percent) and have turned their homes into multi-use spaces for exercising (20 percent) and working at home (20 percent). This mirrors increased activity Houzz has seen in the Houzz Shop, where sales of bakeware and cookware are 4x and 5x higher, home gym sales are up 8x and home furniture sales are up 1.7x that of sales prior to the pandemic.

Most homeowners are dreaming of making some upgrades after spending all this time at home. Improvements to outdoor spaces (35 percent), kitchens (34 percent) and bathrooms (32 percent) are most desired. Roughly ninety percent of homeowners with renovation dreams plan to follow through with them when the coronavirus pandemic is over. They plan on making some decor changes (47 percent), installing better lighting (30 percent) and improving the layout in their home (27 percent) while they’re at it.