Canadians love to renovate
By: Beverly Allen - June 15th, 2007
Approximately 1.5 million households in 10 Canadian cities spent an average of $11,000 in 2006 in renovations, according to a study by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. More than 60% of those families updated, added value to, or prepared their homes for resale, while 33% completed repairs. The top jobs were room remodelling, painting or wallpapering, and flooring.
“More than $17.3 billion was spent on renovations last year across the 10 major centres surveyed,” said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC. “As well, 46% of homeowners in these 10 centres surveyed indicated that they intend to spend $1,000 or more on renovations this year.”
Almost half of those surveyed (47%) said they remained on budget, while more than a third went over budget.Twenty-four percent were do-it-yourselfers who hired a contractor for a portion of the work, while 40% used contractors exclusively and 34% did the work themselves.
Renovation intentions for 2007 are strongest in Edmonton and Winnipeg, where 51% and 50% of consumers, respectively, plan to do work that will cost $1,000 or more. Intentions are lowest in Toronto and Vancouver, where 43% of households have renovation plans. In terms of home purchasing, 8% of households across the 10 major centres surveyed intend to buy a home this year. About half of those are first-time buyers, compared to 40% last year, and most are between the ages of 25 and 34, with a household income between $80,000 and $100,000.Home buying intentions are strongest in Calgary and Edmonton, and lowest in Montréal and Québec.