adminAccording to a recent study by Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, Americans are in nesting mode, adding improvements to make their existing homes more cozy. That translates into big spending on renovations to the tune of $425 billion in 2017.
The Harvard report, Improving America’s Housing 2019, reveals that homeowners spent 50 percent more on remodeling in 2017 than they did at the end of the Great Recession in 2010. Those remodeling most often are older homeowners who have built equity in their properties and are making it possible with renovations to age in place.
According to Bankrate’s analysis of the study, “From 1997 to 2017, the number of older homeowners (age 55 and up) soared by 60 percent from 26 million to 42 million, researchers say. As a group, their real aggregate spending over that 20-year period exploded, rising 150 percent to $117 billion. That’s compared with a less dramatic 9 percent spending increase among homeowners age 35 or younger and a 12 percent increase for homeowners age 35 to 54.
“Meanwhile, the number of younger homeowners (under 35) rose by just 6 percent to 7.3 million between 2015 and 2017, the study revealed.” Read the full article here.
Learn more about how your credit union can benefit from LEVERAGE’s partnership with LendKey, which focuses on the home improvement market.
