During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, homeowners nationwide used their spare time to tackle overdue home projects. As the year continued, a combination of factors, including low interest rates and rising home prices, helped fuel a surge in home renovations, improvements, and remodels.
These trends persisted into 2022, but a combination of economic uncertainty, sluggish home sales, and rising rates led to a slight decrease in home improvement spending. However, recent data from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University indicates that the slowdown in home improvement spending is likely temporary and that spending levels should trend up through the first half of 2025.
U.S. Home Improvement Spending Over Time
After surging over the past decade, home improvement spending pulled back in 2023
Source: Construction Coverage analysis of U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis & U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data | Image Credit: Construction Coverage
After falling by an inflation-adjusted 24% from a high in 2006 to a low in 2011 as a result of the Great Recession, home improvement spending growth got back on track between 2012 and 2019 as the housing market recovered. However, spending then grew sharply during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic before plateauing in 2022 and declining in 2023. According to loan-level data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the number of single-family home improvement loans originated climbed to nearly 745,000 in 2022 before subsequently declining to 565,000 in 2023.
Typically, home improvement spending falls during economic downturns; however, the COVID-19 recession proved to be an exception to the rule. One key reason is that the early stages of the pandemic disproportionately impacted lower-wage workers who were less likely to own homes. Meanwhile, higher-income homeowners didn’t suffer the same level of job losses or reduced wages but benefited from reduced spending on things like eating out and travel, which freed up funds for other expenses. With many of these homeowners spending more time at home, they were eager to create home offices, gyms, and backyard oases featuring decks, outdoor kitchens, and pools.
Home Improvement Loan Approvals by Location
Utah residents invested most in home improvements in 2023
Source: Construction Coverage analysis of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data | Image Credit: Construction Coverage
Investing in home improvements varies by location due to factors such as cost of living, local economic conditions, and the housing market. Notably, the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, and New England stand out for their high spending in 2023.
At the state level, homeowners in Utah and Idaho—two of the top 10 fastest-growing states—took out the most home improvement loans at 17.0 and 13.0 loans per 1,000 homeowners, respectively. Other top states include neighboring Oregon, Colorado, and Washington, as well as Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts in New England. At the other end of the spectrum, homeowners in Louisiana took out the fewest home improvement loans, at just 2.1 loans per 1,000 homeowners.
Similar trends hold at the local level where fast-growing parts of Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon claim many of the top spots for home improvement spending. The Salt Lake City metro ranks first among large metros; Ogden and Provo, UT claim the top two spots among midsize metros; and the Logan, UT-ID metro area sits at the top of the small metros list, followed closely by St. George, UT.
Below is a breakdown of the top and bottom metropolitan areas and states. The research was conducted by Construction Coverage, a website that provides construction insurance guides, using the latest data from the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. For complete results, see the original story U.S. Cities Investing the Most in Home Improvements on Construction Coverage.
Large Metros Investing Most in Home Improvements
States Investing Most in Home Improvements
Methodology
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To find the locations investing the most in home improvements, researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed the latest data from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s 2023 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey, and Zillow’s Zillow Home Value Index. The researchers ranked metros according to the number of home improvement loans per 1,000 owner-occupied households. In the event of a tie, the metro with the larger number of total annual home improvement loans was ranked higher. Researchers also calculated the median home improvement loan amount, median home improvement loan interest rate, and median home price.
Only conventional, single-family, home improvement loans that were originated in 2023 were considered in the analysis. To improve relevance, only locations with complete data were included, and metro areas were grouped into the following cohorts based on population size:
- Small metros: less than 350,000
- Midsize metros: 350,000-999,999
- Large metros: 1,000,000 or more
For complete results, see U.S. Cities Investing the Most in Home Improvements on Construction Coverage.