Home service trend expected to continue in 2021

Spending more time in our homes is resulting in more awareness of their shortcomings

More than ever before, 2020 was the year of the home. Our homes have become our schools, offices, gyms and restaurants and we’ve seen all of those changes reflected in how homeowners have invested in their homes.

“In 2020, the average household spending on home services rose to $13,000. It increased $4K from last year’s survey”, Angie Hicks from Angie’s list said.

A recent home spending report broke down spending across three key categories: the average for home improvement spending was $8,305, home maintenance spending was $3,192 and home emergency spending was $1,640.

“With people spending more time in their homes, we’re also seeing more wear and tear on those same homes. We found that home improvement spending per household was up $745 over last year,” Hicks said.

Spending more time in our homes is resulting in more awareness of their shortcomings, as well as areas in need of improvement. But that’s not the main reason people were spending more.

“The top reason for home improvement spending in this year’s survey was to better suit our houses to our lifestyle: 41% of consumers gave this reason. This is compared to last year, where the top reason for improving your home was to replace or repair damaged items.” Hicks said. The increase in spending on our homes has been funded, in part, by a shift in our activities. “Consumers spent less money dining out and travelling in 2020, and they took a lot of those savings and invested in their home. We expect that trend to continue into early 2021,” according to Hicks.

“We also saw a shift in the types of projects people were tackling in 2020. The top project was interior panting, which is a really cost-effective way to improve your home” Hicks said. Consumers also seemed to need a change of scenery, even as they stayed at home.