50 Times People Tried To Renovate Their Home And Really Outdid Themselves

According to a recent survey conducted by LendingTree, among those who've started, completed or are planning to start a home project, 61% focus on interior painting, 54% work on landscaping, and 47% upgrade their bathrooms.

Reasons for beginning these projects vary. When asked why they’ve worked on a project in the past year or plan to work on one in the next year, 36% of homeowners say they need to make repairs as their house ages, 27% say their improvements are relatively small and 21% say they’re doing the repairs in preparation to sell their home.

Millennial homeowners between the ages of 27 and 42 are the most likely age group to take on an improvement, with 78% working on upgrades in the past year and 72% planning to do so in the next 12 months. They're followed by:

• Gen Zers (ages 18 to 26): 70% have started or completed a project in the past 12 months, while 64% plan to start one in the next 12 months;
• Gen Xers (ages 43 to 58): 65% have started or completed a project in the past 12 months, while 59% plan to start one in the next 12 months;
• Baby Boomers (ages 59 to 77): 54% have started or completed a project in the past 12 months, while 53% plan to start one in the next 12 months.

According to LendingTree senior economist Jacob Channel, there are a few reasons why Millennials are the most likely to start these projects.

"One could be that they’re buying less expensive homes that need more work,” he says. “While there are certainly well-off millennials, members of the generation typically don’t have much wealth compared to their older peers. Owing to this, the only homes that some can afford might be fixer-uppers. Also, millennials may just have more energy to spend on home improvement projects than their older peers.”

According to Channel, people usually prioritize projects that involve easily visible and/or high-traffic areas. “The more eyes that something has on it, the more likely people might want to make it as presentable as possible,” he adds.

“Similarly, the more often a person uses something, like their kitchen or bathroom, the more incentive they have to make sure that it’s working as well as it can. On top of that, some of these projects might be more manageable than others, so people might be more willing to take them on.”

The good thing is that most homeowners don’t just have enough cash on hand to pay for improvements. If they encountered a $5,000 emergency expense, 53% say they’d pay for it with their savings.