In 2014 and 2015, almost seven out of ten Denver homeowners made a home renovation. That figure put Denver at the number one spot out of 25 cities for home improvements. Over the two years since then, that amount maintained its position at 69.3 percent according to the American Housing Survey. It is thought that the cause is rising home prices providing more equity to homeowners to use on renovations.
The study relates this renovation increase to job and population growth. “Both Colorado and Utah have been attracting capital in the technology segment and rapidly adding tech workers. People tend to do more home improvement projects when they move,” said the spokeswoman for the Home Improvement Research Institute Pam Heidel.
A difficult market could be another cause. Homeowners may be opting to improve their homes instead of finding a new home which may not be as easy as it was previously. Also, Denver’s shortage of appraisers could still be a continuing factor. At the same time, low interest rates would make borrowing less expensive.
In addition, a study by Lawnstarter suggests Denver homeowners are very satisfied with their dwellings. They place Denver homeowners as the third happiest in the country. The only two cities ranking higher being San Francisco and Los Angeles. This high level of happiness could be a direct result of the increased renovations.
The amount of home renovations Denver is seeing is even pushing estimates for spending on home improvements in the west. 2017 is expected to grow 6% in the mountain region, with Colorado being the driving force. The other top cities for home improvement include Portland, Phoenix, Kansas City, and Detroit.
