By Dina Sartore-Bodo - Realtor.com
Renovations are on the rise. As more homeowners are staying put, the need to spruce up their living spaces is gaining more focus.
The 2024 Angi State of Home Spending report released this week details the home improvement projects most Americans invested in last year.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, it also confirmed that one generation is investing more money than any other in home renovations, considering their plans don't include moving anytime soon.
Boomers outspent other generations on home projects in 2024
Baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—spent an average of $14,140 on home projects in 2024, according to the Angi report.
With 54% of boomers who own homes having pledged never to sell their property, it makes sense that they’d want to make the investment.
Additionally, the news comes after Charles Schwab revealed that most folks of the booming generation are hanging on to their assets, including real estate, for the long haul. When asked, almost half of boomers surveyed for the report (45%) confessed they wanted “to enjoy my money for myself while I’m still alive.”
Evidently, enjoying their money includes making home improvements.
Baby boomers spent 16.8% more on projects than millennials, who spent an average of $12,101 last year. Gen X wasn’t that far behind, spending an average of $11,781, and Gen Z, which primarily rents their living spaces, spent $9,592 last year.
Top home renovation projects for boomers
Given the state of the market and the struggle to create more inventory, it makes sense that the report added that 67% of homeowners prefer putting the work into renovating their current home to better meet their needs rather than moving.
(It should be noted that 55% of homeowners surveyed cited high interest rates as the primary reason for staying put, rather than the lack of available homes.)
It looks like that trend will continue in 2025.
"Homeowners are clearly committed to their homes. Even as economic pressures and challenges to getting projects done mount, the desire to create functional, personalized, and well-maintained spaces is stronger than ever. The optimism for 2025 reflects the enduring value of homeownership as both a financial and emotional investment," Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angi, told Newsweek.
According to their research, 93% of homeowners are planning home improvement projects in 2025, while 46% are looking ahead to large-scale projects over the next five years, such as kitchen remodels (31%) and bathroom upgrades (28%).
Speaking of the kitchen, real estate agents agree that the heart of the home is an important feature for this specific generation.
“Baby boomers are giving up formal living spaces and are opting for a versatile and open concept floor plan, a space known as the great room,” says Gena Kirk, KB Home vice president of design in Los Angeles. “Two very popular spaces are connected—the kitchen and living areas—and that becomes the hub of the home.”
67% of homeowners prefer putting the work into renovating their current home to better meet their needs rather than moving. (Getty)
While the dining room might be on its way out, boomers are still very interested in entertaining friends and family in their homes.
“As more baby boomers choose to age in place, function continues to be an important factor in the design of the home, and the kitchen is definitely an area they are focused on,” says Kirk.
Younger generations are happy boomers are investing in home improvements
When the time comes, millennials and Gen Zers will be thrilled to inherit homes that have been given so much love and care—so long as the homes get the attention they deserve.
In a 2024 report published by Morning Consult and Leaf Home, a national home improvement company, 68% of boomers admitted they’ve lived in their homes for 30 years or more. Without question, their homes will have seen their share of wear and tear over the decades—and if improvements haven’t been made, that leaves a huge strain on the next generation.
“The housing market is caught in a generational tug-of-war,” says Leaf Home CEO Jon Bostock. “Boomers will soon face aging-in-place hurdles, while millennials will face the surprise of homes in need of major updates. With an aging and ignored inventory of homes available in the next decade, we may see a crisis that will overwhelm the home improvement industry and strain the budgets of inheriting millennials, impacting the housing market.”
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