Home sales may be slowing and home prices may be falling, but with sizable equity gains from record home appreciation, homeowners are moving full speed ahead with renovation projects. As a result, home improvement retailers such as Home Depot and Lowe's are reporting strong quarterly earnings and rising stocks.
As elevated housing costs force would-be sellers to stay in place, a growing number of homeowners are taking on large remodeling projects funded by rising equity gains. By the end of Q1 2022, Americans had a collective $11 trillion dollars in tappable equity, amounting to roughly $207,000 per homeowner, CNBC reports.
Home Depot financial chief Richard McPhail pointed to an “improve in place” mentality among current homeowners, who might have wanted to sell but changed their minds because they could no longer command top dollar.
“All we can do at this point is repeat what our customers are telling us,” McPhail said. “There is a dynamic we don’t see much in the market. With rising mortgage rates, homeowners are staying in place.”
Advertisement
Related Stories
Education + Training
USGBC Offering Free Course on Adaptive Reuse for the Month of June
The course explores several successful models of adaptive reuse projects around the US
Energy Efficiency
Green Upgrade Calculator Brings Clarity to Energy Efficiency
The tool can be used by home contractors, energy advisors, and decarbonization analysts
Remodeling
Home Renovation Trends Report Shows Increase in Project Spending
A recent Houzz survey finds that the median spend for kitchen and primary bath projects jumped in 2022 and increased again in 2023