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Budget
A good estimate on the total cost, properly divided into each stage, is imperative for this plan to work.
If your plan is simple and includes new appliances, new paint and some new hardware, then the estimate will be easy. Go to an appliance store or go online and price out the appliances. Get that painting bid for your cabinets and walls. Count up the hardware requirements, price out your selection, and there you have it. Three simple stages and not much risk (as long as you confirm your appliance selections fit their respective spaces — more on that later).
In larger, more complex jobs, though, it’s difficult to properly price things out without some experience, as kitchen remodels can potentially involve framers, finish carpenters, drywallers, electricians, plumbers, tile setters, slab fabricators, painters and possibly even foundation contractors, roofers, insulators and more.
The point is that it can be challenging to properly estimate a phased remodel, or any remodel, but you need to have a go at it and keep refining and updating as needed. Contractors are experienced at the task, but if you are estimating on your own, make sure you get bids for every subcontractor task and price out the fixtures and materials. And, if you can, try to get some consultation from someone with experience.
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Only 56% of professional remodelers undertake projects designed to allow homeowners to Age-in-Place (AIP), according to results from NAHB’s Q1 2025 Remodeling Market Index (RMI) survey. This is the lowest percentage recorded since NAHB began periodically asking AIP questions on its RMI survey in 2004. Economic uncertainty and high interest rates over the past year are the most likely explanations for this slight pullback in projects. Additionally, stock market volatility has dampened any potential wealth effects, especially since over 75% of all corporate equities and mutual fund holdings are held by those 55 or older.
The National Institute of Aging defines AIP as “staying in your own home as you get older.” This concept is becoming more relevant as the overall median age of the population continues to increase. Given the age of the existing housing stock, the need to update homes for AIP is a major demand-driver for the remodeling sector.
Age Groups
When asked about the age groups of homeowners who request AIP work, 73% of remodelers indicated that homeowners are 65 years or older, followed by 55 to 64 years at 61%. These two age groups have consistently been above 60% since the Q4 2010 survey.
Familiarity with Aging-in-Place
Ninety-six percent of remodelers indicated that most or some of their consumers are familiar with the AIP concept. That share has been at least 90% since the Q4 2018 survey.
Type of Aging-in-Place Projects
Grab bars remain the most common AIP project, with 87% of remodelers reporting this job in the last year, followed by curb-less shower (78%), installing higher toilets (71%), and widening doorways (52%). While their relative ranking has changed, these four have consistently been the AIP project types most often cited by remodelers.
Frequency of Aging-in-Place Requests
Seventy-three percent of remodelers indicated that requests for AIP features have significantly or somewhat increased over the past 5 years. This figure has not changed much since the inception of the series in 2004, ranging from 72% to 77%.
Reasons for Aging-in-Place Work
As for the reason why customers are undertaking AIP projects, 91% of remodelers stated that customers are planning ahead for future needs, followed by living with older parents (48%) and acute age-related disabilities (43%).
Who is Requesting Aging-in-Place Work?
Sixty-five percent of remodelers indicated that a majority of their AIP work was determined by the client, whereas the other 35% said it was mostly suggested by the contractor. The ‘determined by client’ option has consistently been above 50 percent.
Receptive to Aging-in-Place Modifications
When asked how receptive potential clients are to incorporating suggested AIP modifications, 48% indicated that their customers were very receptive and 51% were somewhat receptive, with only 2% stated that customers were not at all receptive to these modifications. The combined share of potential clients being receptive (‘very receptive’ + ‘somewhat receptive’) has consistently been above 95%.
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7. Smart Product Features Highly Sought
Renovating homeowners invested in products with both standard and smart technology in 2024, and in fact preferred smart tech in several product categories. The dark green bars in this graphic represent standard products. The light green shows smart products, which refers to technology that can be monitored or controlled from a mobile device (smartphone or tablet), a computer or both.
Light fixtures topped the list of indoor product purchases at 51%, with 38% of renovating homeowners choosing standard and 13% opting for smart versions. TVs followed at 27%, with 16% choosing standard TVs and 11% opting for smart.
Alarms and detectors (14% standard, 12% smart) and thermostats (7% standard, 16% smart) also were in demand. Smart versions led for wireless doorbell cameras (16%), streaming-media players (10%), home assistants (14%) and garage door openers (8%) as well. And among smart security products, homeowners chose wireless door locks (8%), cameras (9%) and motion or other sensors (5%).
Smart security cameras led outdoor tech purchases at 23%, followed by standard outdoor lighting fixtures at 23% (not shown).
10 Ways to Control the Cost of Your Bathroom Remodel
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In a previous post, NAHB analyzed where builders and remodelers purchased products, regardless of who ultimately purchases them (themselves or subcontractors). In this post, the question shifts to who is most often responsible for the choice of particular products.
When averaging over all 24 building product categories, 60% of builders report they had the most influence on product selection compared to 49% of remodelers. Still, these shares are ranked the highest within their respective sector. Both builders and remodelers reported similar shares of influence for subcontractors, dealers & suppliers, and architects.
However, when it comes to the greatest influencer being the customer, this is more prevalent among remodelers (26%) than among builders (16%). When analyzing the top seven products most often chosen by the customer, there is a considerable gap between remodelers and builders. Most of these products (cabinets, lighting, carpeting, ceramic tile, countertops, other flooring) typically are chosen for decorative qualities which are rated quite important among customers.
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The most common sources for products used in home building and remodeling are specialty retailers, lumber yards, and wholesale distributors, according to two recent NAHB surveys. The surveys include one of single-family homebuilders in the October 2024 NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) and one of remodelers in the Q3 2024 NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI). Both surveys asked respondents where they purchase building products, regardless of who ultimately purchases them (themselves or subcontractors)
When averaging across 24 building product categories, the top three major channels of distribution are roughly the same for both builders and remodelers. Specialty retailers, lumber yards, and wholesale distributors together account for around 70% of building product purchases.
When analyzing the specific products purchased at lumber yards, the top products purchased by both builders and remodelers were basic lumber products including plywood & OSB, sawn lumber, and engineered lumber & I-joists.
One major difference between builders and remodelers was the share of those who purchase products from home improvement centers. Remodelers are three times as likely to buy products at this channel of distribution compared to builders. Nevertheless, one specific product category, hand & power tools, is purchased at home improvement centers by a majority of both remodelers (68%) and builders (56%). Of those that do purchase hand & power tools at home improvement centers, 11% of remodelers purchased at least one other product there compared to 3% of builders.
A subsequent post on who is most often responsible for choosing these products will come later. Please click here to be redirected to the full report.
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Sentiment declined among remodelers in the first quarter of 2025, following a similar trend last month in single-family home builder sentiment. The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 63 in the first quarter, down five points compared to the previous quarter. While this reading is still in positive territory, this is only the second time since the first quarter of 2020 that the RMI has been as low as 63.
Tariffs and economic uncertainty were top-of-mind for consumers this quarter. Although almost all the data for the first quarter RMI were collected before the release of specific reciprocal tariffs, the debate and uncertainty over tariffs has had an effect on consumer confidence. Moreover, remodelers responding to the special questions as part of the RMI survey reported that their suppliers have already increased prices by an average of 6.9% since January 20, due to the anticipated effect of tariffs.
Nevertheless, strong tailwind factors, such as an aging population, aging housing stock, home equity gains post-COVID, and “locked-in” (definition) existing homeowners, will continue to keep remodeling spending solid for the foreseeable future according to NAHB’s forecast.
The RMI is based on a survey that asks remodelers to rate various aspects of the residential remodeling market “good”, “fair” or “poor.” Responses from each question are converted to an index that lies on a scale from 0 to 100. An index number above 50 indicates a higher proportion of respondents view conditions as good rather than poor.
Current Conditions
The Remodeling Market Index (RMI) is an average of two major component indices: the Current Conditions Index and the Future Indicators Index.
The Current Conditions Index is an average of three subcomponents: the current market for large remodeling projects ($50,000 or more), moderately sized projects ($20,000 to $49,999), and small projects (under $20,000). In the first quarter of 2025, the Current Conditions Index averaged 71, dropping four points from the previous quarter. While the component measuring small-sized projects remained unchanged at 76, moderately-sized remodeling projects inched down one point to 72 and large remodeling projects fell 11 points to 64. However, all three components remained above 50 in positive territory.
Future Indicators
The Future Indicators Index is an average of two subcomponents: the current rate at which leads and inquiries are coming in, and the current backlog of remodeling projects.
In the first quarter of 2025, the Future Indicators Index averaged 55, down six points from the previous quarter. Both subcomponents experienced decreases quarter-over-quarter, with the component measuring the backlog of remodeling jobs inched down one point to 58 and the component measuring the current rate at which leads and inquiries are coming in fell 11 points to 51.
For the full set of RMI tables, including regional indices and a complete history for each RMI component, please visit NAHB’s RMI web page.
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9. Government-Backed Loans
The Federal Housing Administration backs several home renovation loan options offered through private lenders.
If your renovation goal is to make your home more livable, useful, accessible or energy-efficient, you might qualify for a Title 1 fixed-rate loan. The maximum loan amount for a single-family home is $25,000, and amounts less than $7,500 are usually unsecured. The payout is a lump sum, and the interest rate is fixed.
If you need to borrow more than $25,000, you might qualify for a 203(k) loan (for major work). This combines a renovation loan with a mortgage. A portion of the loan goes toward purchasing the home, and the rest is paid to the contractor as needed. The interest rate can be fixed or variable.
This article was originally published by a www.houzz.com . Read the Original article here. .
9. Government-Backed Loans
The Federal Housing Administration backs several home renovation loan options offered through private lenders.
If your renovation goal is to make your home more livable, useful, accessible or energy-efficient, you might qualify for a Title 1 fixed-rate loan. The maximum loan amount for a single-family home is $25,000, and amounts less than $7,500 are usually unsecured. The payout is a lump sum, and the interest rate is fixed.
If you need to borrow more than $25,000, you might qualify for a 203(k) loan (for major work). This combines a renovation loan with a mortgage. A portion of the loan goes toward purchasing the home, and the rest is paid to the contractor as needed. The interest rate can be fixed or variable.
This article was originally published by a www.houzz.com . Read the Original article here. .
The NAHB/Westlake Royal Remodeling Market Index (RMI) posted a reading of 68 for the fourth quarter of 2024, up five points compared to the previous quarter.
Remodelers are more optimistic about the market than they were earlier in the year, corroborated by NAHB’s recent analysis of home improvement loan applications. Demand in many parts of the country was stronger than usual for the fall season, especially demand for larger projects, with leads coming in after the uncertainty about the November elections was removed. Not only did the current conditions index for $50,000-plus projects show the greatest increase during the quarter, but the share of remodelers doing whole house remodeling reached a record high of 62%.
The RMI is based on a survey that asks remodelers to rate various aspects of the residential remodeling market “good”, “fair” or “poor.” Responses from each question are converted to an index that lies on a scale from 0 to 100. An index number above 50 indicates a higher proportion of respondents view conditions as good rather than poor.
Current Conditions
The Remodeling Market Index (RMI) is an average of two major component indices: the Current Conditions Index and the Future Indicators Index.
The Current Conditions Index is an average of three subcomponents: the current market for large remodeling projects ($50,000 or more), moderately sized projects ($20,000 to $49,999), and small projects (under $20,000). In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Current Conditions Index averaged 75, increasing three points from the previous quarter. All three components remained well above 50 in positive territory: large remodeling projects rose eight points to 75, moderate remodeling projects increased two points to 73, and small remodeling projects inched down one point to 76.
Future Indicators
The Future Indicators Index is an average of two subcomponents: the current rate at which leads and inquiries are coming in and the current backlog of remodeling projects.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Future Indicators Index was 61, up six points from the previous quarter. The component measuring the current rate at which leads and inquiries are coming jumped nine points to 62. Meanwhile, the component measuring in the backlog of remodeling jobs rose two points to 59 quarter-over-quarter.
For the full set of RMI tables, including regional indices and a complete history for each RMI component, please visit NAHB’s RMI web page.
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Good-quality accessories and hardware, such as pullout corner units, drawer dividers, and soft-close runners and door hinges, often get excluded from kitchen designs due to budget constraints. But this can be a false economy in the long run as features such as these can make a big difference to your kitchen, boosting its storage potential and making the space far more pleasant to use.
These features do add to the overall cost of a new kitchen, but they’re worth the extra outlay, particularly if you’re an enthusiastic cook.
Solution: Know your options. Ask your kitchen designer about all the storage and hardware options available so you can make a fully informed choice.
If you don’t specify exactly what you want, you may end up with less than ideal hardware and storage solutions, which can be a missed opportunity — think a setup that consists of more cupboards than drawers, drawers without inserts and no soft-closing hardware. If budget is a concern, focus on those features that you feel will make the most difference to your experience of the kitchen.
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