Home improvement has become increasingly popular in 2022. It’s not uncommon to walk around your neighborhood and to be greeted with sounds of power tools churning. There was a recent survey done by Porch which found that over 3 out of 4 homeowners in the US have completed at least 1 home improvement project since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic [1]. The pandemic spurred a lot of growth in this sector. Here are some of the major reasons home improvement has skyrocketed in popularity over the past year or so.
Reasons Home Improvement Interest Is Up:
- People Have More Time
A lot of people tend to waste an average of 50 minutes in a car each day driving to and from work [2]. This is a lot of time that many have to themselves now that they are working from home. Anyone who is working remotely will have excess time that they’ve been able to put into other things. For many, this excess time was put into completing at-home projects they’ve been thinking about doing. In the same survey discussed above, 25 percent of Americans decided to improve their homes during the pandemic because they finally had more time for it. While the commute plays a part in things, many people also have more time to do other things because they cannot go out and enjoy themselves. If you aren’t able to go out to restaurants and hang out with friends outside of the house, you can allocate that time to other things like home improvement and spending more time in the kitchen honing your cooking skills
- Push To Get Outdoors
A lot of people found themselves spending far too much time indoors and away from sunlight. Because of this, a lot of people decided to work on their lawns, the exterior of their homes, and even their gardens because it gave them an excuse to go outside. As mentioned in the survey, as many as 26 percent of homeowners ended up working on their gardens during the pandemic while as many as 18 percent worked on their lawns [1]. These things gave people a reason to get outdoors, get some sunlight, and be productive outside.
- The Need For a Home Workspace
Another big reason a lot of people likely made improvements in their home was due to the necessity of it. Not everyone has a dedicated workspace they can use in their homes. This isn’t something that everyone has access to. After all, not many people worked remotely before. This was something that was brand new to many and it caught a lot of people off-guard. Many ended up having to complete at-home improvement projects because they needed to give themselves either a dedicated workspace or better Internet. The survey showed that as many as 1 in 5 Americans ended up upgrading their Internet since the pandemic started. Therefore, it’s clear that the reliance on using the Internet for communicating for work and to speak with family and friends was a driving force in these improvements.
- Lower Interest Rates
Another major reason a lot of homeowners likely opted to do some home improvements had to do with the extremely low-interest rates. This makes investing in your home even more worthy of consideration. After all, you are only going to be doing things to improve the overall value of your home. Even basic home improvement projects can end up making your home more marketable by enhancing its curb appeal. Lower interest rates probably drove a lot of people who were already considering it to go ahead with it.
- Kids and Fitness
Another big reason has to do with kids and the inability to go to the parks. When the pandemic hit, everything was closed. This left parents with nowhere to take their kids to release energy. Therefore, parents had to build their gyms or play areas outdoors. Likewise, people had nowhere to go to work out. After all, all of the fitness gyms were closed. This increased the interest in home workout equipment as you had spin bikes and rowing machines selling out everywhere.
As you can see, there is a surge in homeowners’ interest in completing home improvement projects. A lot of it likely has to do with more people than ever before spending more time at home. After all, who wants to spend time at home if it’s not comforting and enjoyable? Some invested in home improvements because it was a necessity whether it was to upgrade their working space or give their kids somewhere to play. Home improvement has become incredibly popular and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down. The sudden consequences of the pandemic certainly spurred this interest, but this trend looks here to stay.
References:
[1] https://porch.com/advice/home-improvement-trends-covid
[2] https://www.inc.com/steve-farber/4-ways-to-be-productive-while-driving-to-work-no-texting-required.html
Leave a Reply