2016 appears to be a booming year for the real estate market. Recent reports claim that there has been a significant increase in the average spending of Americans on home improvements. What led to the sudden rise?
A recent report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University entitled, "Improving America's Housing - Emerging Trends in the Remodeling Market" revealed that more homeowners are spending more on home improvements, Realty Times reported.
According to the report, there has been an increase of $6 billion in the average cost of expenses on home improvements from 2011 to 2013. This increase is said to be due to a number of reasons.
One of the reasons for the increase in the average spending allotted for home improvements is the housing downturn. According to the publication, this condition has led more homeowners to the decision of improving their own homes rather than trading it for a new one.
Another reason is the increase in the demand for rental homes. As previously reported here on Realty Today, more Americans are choosing to rent than own because of the increasing prices of houses on the real estate market and the stagnant wages.
This means that homeowners with more than one property can rent out their homes as a form of investment and source of income as well. Remodeling their homes to make it suitable for renting can offer one of the best ROIs.
Aside from the aforementioned reasons, the publication noted that there have also been federal and state stimulus programs, which offer rebates and exemptions in houses that take part in energy efficiency upgrades.
The federal tax credit for homeowners who choose to live green and install solar panels has been extended till 2016.
The majority of the home improvements is geared towards those that do not need a lot of time and effort for maintenance. These improvements include fiber-cement siding, quartz countertops and easy-to-maintain exterior products.
