Hot Ideas for Home Improvement This Summer
Federal Brace recently co-hosted #Remodelchat, a bi-weekly twitter chat for Remodelers, Architects, Engineers, & Construction Pros on the topic “Summer Home Improvement Trends & Ideas”. As Summer is the ideal time to assess & make upgrades to homes, this timely @Remodelchat twitter conversation covered the home improvement ideas that are not only the most seasonally requested but also the most practical.
This latest #Remodelchat topic was inspired by warm weather & a Kitchen & Bath Design News (KBDN) feature, “Remodeling Seen Picking Up Slack as Homebuilding Lags” (May 2019). The KBDN feature addressed a report released (March 2019) by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies - Remodeling Futures Program, indicating that the remodeling market has expanded by more than 50% since the end of the Great Recession (hitting a record of nearly $425 billion in 2017). Abbe Will, Associate Project Director in the Remodeling Futures Program says, “With new construction slowly recovering from historic lows, 40% of the country’s 137 million homes are at least 50 years old. The aging of the nation’s housing stock has been a boon to the remodeling industry, with spending surpassing investment in home building every year for more than a decade.” The steady uptick in housing prices is also driving increased residential remodeling spending, according to the Harvard Joint Center researchers. Rising prices mean growing home equity, which provides owners both the incentive & the means to undertake more & larger remodeling projects.
To pay for home improvements, homeowners relied largely on their savings, even for major projects. More than half of projects costing 50K or more in 2017 were funded by cash. Expanding the ability of owners to pay for improvement projects over time - whether through home equity loans or lines of credit, cash-out refinances, or contractor arranged financing - would not only generate considerable growth in the remodeling industry, but also help to preserve & modernize the nation’s aging housing stock.
So where to begin? A popular Q/A segment in the “Summer Home Improvement Trends & Ideas” with #Remodelchat participants started with the topic, “Where do you find home improvement/remodeling insights for Summer Remodeling? Answers included, “social media, Pinterest, other people’s homes, Houzz, Instagram, industry websites, industry magazines, Youtube, & #Remodelchat of course! Inspiration is everywhere!”
When done right - Summer remodeling projects can add significant value to the home - as well as provide long term savings in the form of energy efficiency. Another hot Q/A segment in the “Summer Home Improvement Trends & Ideas” with #Remodelchat participants included: “What are the best energy efficient improvement projects to start immediately?” Responses included, “Ceiling fans for efficient cooling, new windows & doors to cut energy costs in summer (& winter!), installing energy efficient insulation, & switch out old/outdated appliances to slick & modern energy qualified models”.
Federal Brace has beautifully crafted, confident support for every summer remodeling project at FederalBrace.com - for more insider ideas & information be sure to join @FederalBrace, @Remodelchat, the best remodelers, & AEC pros for the next #Remodelchat (held bi-weekly on Thursdays at Noon EST) on Twitter. NOTE: The 2019 State of the Nation’s Housing Release will take place Tuesday June 25th at Noon EST. The event will be livestreamed at the Joint Center for Housing Studies website > https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/ - Join that conversation using #harvardhousingreport on Twitter.
