Home Renovation By Generation: What generation is most likely to remodel their homes?

Ever wondered what generation is most likely to remodel their home? 

Maybe you are a construction or landscape contractor and want to know more about your target demographic.

Or maybe you are a homeowner trying to keep up with developing trends. Or perhaps you're simply a little curious. 

Well, you are in the right place. 

Below you will find the most common generational trends from Zoomers to Boomers. 

And insider insights from construction and renovation experts from across the country.

I. Home Improvement Trends By Generation

Make no doubt about it, we all want to live in a great space. But each generation has its own priorities when it comes to doing so.

Which simply makes sense. Before diving deeper, let’s look at the key findings we uncovered. 

3 Key Findings of Our Research:

1. Zommers very rarely remodel their homes. 
2. While few Millennials renovate or remodel their homes, they are the most likely to do the work themselves rather than hire a pro.
3. Gen X and Baby Boomers, often have larger families and more financial stability, which give them more ability and incentive to renovate their homes

One of the pieces of research we used to arrive at these conclusions was from Stastia;

Here is that break-down again:

• Millennials - 9%

• Gen X - 27%

• Baby Boomers - 59%

• Senior - 5%

• Zommers - Not included as they make up only .1%

Make no doubt about it; there is a huge difference between each generation and the frequency with which they renovate their homes. 

And Baby Boomers lead the pack, with over half reporting that they had recently renovated their homes. 

The research from Statista suggests that Baby Boomers that own homes are finally in a position where they can afford to renovate their homes. 

More recent research from Statista suggests that fewer Millennials {9% down from 12%} now remodel their homes in 2022 than they did in 2020. 

Insider Insight: The Most Common Renovation Client is in their 40s or 50s.

“Most of the renovations we perform are for people above the age of 30. It peaks in 40s and 50s. This is when we all build nests, or we renovate a home to sell and go buy our nest that we intend to stay in for a while."

"People in their 20s are still figuring out their careers, families, and aren’t ready to build a nest yet. The older you go, the more renovation, until you get well past retirement. Then fixed incomes reduce renovation budgets.” -Rick Berres owner of Honey-Doers

II. Motivations for home improvement

Everyone is motivated by different factors when it comes to renovating their homes. 

And yet each generation has their own core guiding motivations common to most individuals in the group.

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Gen Z, rarely renovate their homes.  So there isn't enough data to go off of.

While slightly more Millennials renovate their homes, they are still far less likely to do so than Gen X and Baby Boomers.

Millennials' motivations for remodeling their homes are much different than the older generations. 

Insider Insight: Millennials Are Remodeling More Often Now Than In Previous Years.

"Baby boomers have been the most likely to remodel their homes for years, but the increasing age of current dwellings has led to more of the younger generation undertaking these projects. Millennials, for example, are now remodeling their homes more often than in the past few years." -Todd Saunders, CEO of FlooringStores. 

According to research from the Home Improvement Research Institute, Millennials are largely motivated by experiencing new things and learning new skills. Therefore millennials are the most likely to DIY, which is a good thing because millennials are less financially stable than their seniors. 

Millennials like Gen X are also driven to renovate their homes to accommodate their expanding families. 

Gen X is motivated by their maturing careers and families. 

While they are significantly less likely to remodel their homes than the boomers are. Gen X is actively planning their future home remodeling or perhaps starting to tackle some of the most important renovations, such as kitchen and bathroom remodels. 

Gen X has more financial stability than Millennials and have more options with the ability to hire professionals. 

Yet, Gen X is also much more likely to DIY than Baby Boomers.  

Far and beyond, Baby Boomers are the most common renovators of their homes.

Research suggests that baby boomers have always wanted to renovate their homes and finally found themselves in a position to do so. Whether it's a simple bathroom remodel, installing a new landscape, or an addition to their home, Baby Boomers are leading the charge. 

Another major influence that calls baby boomers to renovate is that they simply want to sell their home. 

Therefore they renovate in order to improve their home's curb appeal and get it to sell faster, with the hopes of having a return on their investment. 

Seniors rarely renovate their homes.  So there isn't enough data to go off of.

III. Challenges faced by each generation

It’s true, each generation faces unique challenges when it comes to home ownership. And this all rolls into each generation's ability to renovate their home. 

While older generations, such as Gen X and Boomers have more financial stability than more mature generations can. Millennials are the most motivated to do their own home remodels.

Insider Insight: Mid 50s Married Couples Renovate for Energy Efficiency and Maintenance

"Our recent experiences with remodeling unrelated to insurance proceeds have produced a client profile of a mid 50’s married couple, likely improving a second home or rental for energy efficiency, fire reduction, or maintenance reasons rather than curb appeal!" -Niki O'Brien Custom Exteriors LLC

On the flip side, Baby Boomers are more likely to have health complications. This not only limits their desire to do renovations on their own, but may also lead them to make some common home renovations for seniors that will make their life a little simpler, easier and even more affordable in the long run.

IV. DIY vs. Professional Home Improvement

So now let’s talk DIY vs. Professional home improvement. 

Right off the bat, we can recognize that doing a project yourself is going to save you money. At Least if you don’t mess something up. 

This is crazy; while millennials and Gen Xers are less comfortable doing their own home improvement projects, they are most commonly the ones that do. 

So why are Millennials and Gen Xers more likely to do their own home improvements, despite feeling less comfortable doing the work?

You probably guessed it! To save MONEY. But that's not the only factor that motivates Millennials' choice to DIY vs. hire a pro.

Insider Insight: Kitchen and Bathroom Remodels are the Most Common Remodels.

"The most common home renovations currently happening are in the main bathrooms and kitchens. The reason for this is because they give the biggest return on investment and tend to have the biggest impact on a homeowners day to day living." -Donald Olhausen Jr Owner of WeBuyHousesInSanDiego.com 

According to the Home Improvement Research Network, Millennials are most likely to make “experience-based” decisions.

Whether this doing a project themselves to learn something new or hiring a professional to do it because they had a good experience doing so in the past. From yard clean-up, to home renovations, younger generations are more likely to do the work themselves. 

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Pros and Cons of DIY vs. Hiring a Pro to Renovate

• Pros of DIY:

  • DIY can Save you Money
  • Help you gain new experiences

• Cons of DIY:

  • Projects may get started but not completed
  • More dangerous if you lack experience
  • Mistakes can be costly

• Pros of hiring a professional:

  • Better end results
  • Faster professional service
  • You get more time to focus elsewhere
  • Less dangerous

• Cons of hiring a Professional:

  • More costly,
  • Can be difficult to find the right contractor

VIII. Conclusion

As you can see each generation, from Zoomers, to Gen X and the Baby Boomers, there are many different reasons and varying motivations and factors that determine when and how a homeowner chooses.

From health concerns placed on older generations to the financial handicaps experienced by the youth, Baby Boomers are far and beyond the most likely to renovate their homes. 

Considering taking out a loan to renovate your home? Read this article on deciding whether to take out a loan for home improvement.

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