Although inflation has begun to diminish from its elevated state over the past six months, prices, including those for home improvement and household furnishings, continue to remain high. These prices have been up by 7.3% over the past year.
Due to home improvement items costing well above their standard average, 46.3% of South Carolina homeowners are now spending less on improvement projects for their home on account of inflation, according to a recent study conducted by Today’s Homeowner.
This is in comparison to the 49.8% of homeowners nationwide who are also spending less on home improvements due to the state of the current economic climate.
In addition, 68.3% of South Carolina residents say they are now more likely to begin a ‘DIY’ project this year due to inflation, showed the study.
Today’s Homeowner conducted the study to understand how Americans are reacting to these elevated price increases. This was done by surveying nearly 3,700 homeowners to discover how inflation was affecting their ability to act on home improvement plans this year. Survey data for the report was collected in January of 2023.
The rise in inflation isn’t only impacting homeowners’ decisions to purchase furnishings or decorate their home, detailed research from the study. In fact, about 71% of homeowners nationwide reported that inflation was the reason behind them choosing to attempt a project on their own rather than hiring a professional to do the job.
Data from Today’s Homeowner revealed that 76% of homeowners aged between 18-24 years old were choosing to complete a home project themselves in comparison to 67.4% of homeowners that were reportedly older than 55 years old.
However, whether it is by ‘DIY’ (do it yourself) or by hiring a professional, nine out of 10 homeowners in the country are still planning to act on home improvement projects currently planned for 2023.
Have you been wanting to make budget-friendly updates to your own house?
Even the smallest of changes can make a noticeable impact in elevating your home’s appearance.
According to HGTV, some ‘DIY’ improvement projects you can do yourself to your home all for under $50 include:
- Paint your front door
- Install a shiplap accent wall
- Lay down fake marble countertops
- Try using peel-and-stick wallpaper
- Remove your popcorn ceiling
- Update your kitchen cabinet hardware
- Update your mailbox
- Add indoor plants
- Update your outdoor lighting
With this in mind, considering the higher material or hiring costs, more than half of the homeowners within the study are adjusting their spending limit for their planned home improvement projects due to the state of the current economic climate and are “hesitant” to borrow money due to high interest rates.
The top reasons for wanting to improve their homes, according to Today’s Homeowner’s study, include:
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Improving living space
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Fix something that is broken
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Improve safety
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Make space more eco-friendly
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Renovations prior to listing home for sale
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Other
This tale was originally published February 3, 2023, 8:00 AM.
Sarah Claire McDonald is a Provider Journalism Reporter for The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. She specializes in composing audience-concentrated, exclusive, spotlight stories about men and women, places and occurrences in the Lowcountry. Initially from the Midwest, Sarah Claire researched news media, communications and English at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where by she graduated in 2021.
