Baby Boomers Picking Up Remodeling Spending, ServiceMagic.com Study Says

The latest data from ServiceMagic.com's Home Remodeling and Repair Index indicates consumers are still somewhat cautious in home remodel spending, but confidence is substantially increasing, especially among baby boomers. 

ServiceMagic.com aggregated its 1.3 million homeowner service requests received in the second quarter of this year in the Q2 2009 ServiceMagic.com Home Remodeling and Repair Index and found that interest in home improvements and remodeling in order to boost the overall enjoyment of the home is recovering with baby boomers leading the way. The entire index can be found online at www.servicemagic.com/survey [1]. 

Across the board, those in the 45-64 age range are leading the charge in home im­provement projects and seem to be the first “back in the pool,” willing to jumpstart home projects more than any other age range. The boomer generation submitted more than half of the service requests in the second quarter. The index also shows moving requests are down 42 percent nationally, indicating more people are staying in their homes. 

“Home improvement activity in the most recent quarter reflects that baby boomers are the first to bounce back after the economic turmoil the nation recently experienced,” said Craig Smith, CEO of ServiceMagic.com. “It seems homeowners in general are now cautiously, but increasingly optimistic about home improvement as both a valuable investment in their homes and as a profitable way of life, respectively.” 

Homeowners plan to tackle small projects, keeping with the Q1 trend, with the intent to head into large-scale remodels in early 2010. The data measures the 1.3 million service requests received by ServiceMagic.com in the second quarter of this year, comparing the numbers to the same quarter of 2008. 

“The way consumers are approaching home improvement changed significantly in the second quarter,” said Smith. “The landscape may have changed due to the recession but people still take great pride in their homes, showcasing that the home improvement sector appears to be recovering.” 

Key findings from the index indicate that:

• Remodeling is on the rise: Fourteen percent of those currently in homes worth $200,000 to 300,000 are focusing on remodeling the home versus maintaining or repairing. Nationally, the kitchen and bathroom – the two rooms of the house that traditionally see the most remodeling activity – rebounded in the second quarter.
• Inspiration source has changed: Homeowners seek home improvement ideas and motivation from multiple sources. In ServiceMagic’s consumer sentiment survey, homeowners indicated they are increasingly dependent on the Internet as a source of inspiration. The percentage of homeowners who said they go online for home improvement ideas increased from 17 to 40 percent -- the largest increase. The use of traditional media increased from 36 to 57 percent, advice from professionals increased from 12 to 22 percent and advice from friends increased from 9 to 25 percent.
• “Staycation” trend continues: Homeowners look to boost the entertainment value both inside and outside of their home to create a fresh feel. Projects include hardscaping, deck installation, home theatre and computer rooms, remodeling bathrooms, sauna installation and kitchens renovations.
• Optimism growing: 80 percent of home service professionals responding to the service professional sentiment survey say they are optimistic about their company’s performance for the rest of 2009. In similar fashion, while 67 percent of homeowners prolonged or postponed a project this quarter 72 percent say they will reconsider the same project in 2010.