Lots to do in the kitchen and bathroom

The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) conducts a quarterly survey of 2 000 homeowners to track their current and planned renovation projects. The results are incorporated into the Home Improvement Project Activity Tracker, a tool for the home improvement product industry.

HIRI analysed the latest data from the last three months of 2022 to get a clear picture of the focus of home improvement projects, homeowners’ cost expectations and more. Here are the results:

Outdoor projects and kitchen remodels lead

Typically, seasonal data shows that homeowners abandon their exterior projects in favour of interior improvements and turn their attention back to the interior of their home as autumn fades into the winter months.

Surprisingly, this was not the case in the fourth quarter of 2022, as more homeowners (28 per cent) opted to continue exterior work, according to the survey. This was although only 13 per cent said they planned to do so in the third quarter.

As the cost of a home remains high and mobility rates decline, existing homeowners are choosing to expand outdoor living spaces, and new homebuyers are sacrificing indoor space and opting to invest in outdoor living spaces to feel like they have enough room to stretch their elbows.

However, the unexpected lingering of outdoor projects did not dampen homeowners’ intentions to start work on their kitchens in the final months, according to the survey. In fact, kitchen projects remained consistently high throughout 2022, peaking in the second quarter, typically the peak time for outdoor projects. This could be mainly due to the fact that the start of kitchen projects was delayed due to the backlog of manufacturers.

18 per cent of respondents in Q3 2022 said they planned to remodel or upgrade their kitchen in Q4 2022, while 25 per cent actually started these projects by the end of the year.

Similar to the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, the intention to carry out a kitchen repair or modernisation remains an important topic for homeowners in the coming months. Most respondents (17 per cent) plan to make minor renovations and cosmetic changes to their kitchen in the first quarter of 2023. These projects are mainly painting, replacing floors and/or replacing old worktops.

In addition to exterior and kitchen projects, 13 per cent of homeowners completed a project in the main or guest bathroom in the fourth quarter of 2022. Much of the work planned for this area of the home in 2023 will also of a cosmetic nature…