Home Improvement Projects Aiding Mental Health During Pandemic

Home improvement projects have been on the rise in 2020, as more people are spending extra time in their houses.

Since the pandemic, 90% of homeowners and 78% of renters reported starting a DIY project and 64% of owners and 63% of renters said they were successful in doing so, according to a new survey from CouponFollow. Bathroom repair was the most popular home improvement project for both renters and buyers, followed by interior house painting and bathroom décor for owners and bedroom décor and interior house painting for renters. Millennials were most likely to do a bathroom repair project, while Generation X members were commonly found interior house painting. Baby boomers were most likely to update their bedroom décor as their DIY project. These home improvement projects did more than update people’s homes, 66% of respondents said the DIY projects encouraged them to stay home, while 73% said the projects helped their mental health during the pandemic.

There were some flops though. Owners reported refurbishing furniture was the least successful project, while those attempting to paint the outside of their home or perform kitchen repairs weren’t too successful. Renters reported struggling with bathroom décor, bathroom repair and bedroom décor.

Some of these projects were costly, with millennials spending $414 on average, baby boomers spending $359 on average and Generation X spending $290 on average. The majority (55%) used savings to finance, while 31% put it on a credit card and 26% used their COVID-19 stimulus check. The report found people spent the most money on building and/or installing shelving and cabinets, while installing and updating a garden was the least expensive.

The quarantine was the top reason 55% of people said they chose to do a home improvement project during this time period, while 49% said they did them just for enjoyment, and one-third said it helped their mental health during this time.

However, these home improvement projects aren’t making homeowners rush to sell their homes. In fact, one-quarter of owners in the 1,000+ person survey had planned to sell their home pre-COVID-19, but now 69% of those would-be sellers are unsure whether now is the time to put their property on the market. Forty-six percent said they are going to wait until post-pandemic to list, while 42% are going to sell now. Still, 34% are going to do some DIY projects during the pandemic and sell after and 33% are going to watch the housing market before making a decision.