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The home improvement market is increasing annually around the world. In the United States, the industry’s value is expected to surpass $600 billion by 2025, with similar growth predictions in Mexico, Germany, and France. The home improvement industry involves the sale of various home enhancements such as appliances and building materials. It also includes the services offered by tradespeople and contractors.
Reasons Behind The Home Improvement Markets Growth
There are many reasons why more people are starting to renovate their homes. Of course, it is a way to improve your quality of life as you can add more comfort and enjoyment to your home, but renovations also fix safety issues. Adding improvements to your home can also be a good long-term investment since you can improve your home’s selling value.
Even though many people purchase their homes with the intention of staying there for a long time, you never know where life will take you, and you may decide to sell your home one day. If that’s the case, you’ll be glad you spent some extra money improving the space.
There are also key financial drivers influencing the home improvement market. For example, the industry has changed so much that the cost of labor is no longer one of the most significant expenses of a home renovation project. That’s because you can now pay for this type of project with sweat equity, which may take some stress away.
Sweat equity refers to doing the work on your home yourself rather than spending money to pay tradespeople and contractors to do it. Typically, after you sell your home, the difference between what you sold it for and what you would have sold the property for had you not made the improvements represents your sweat equity value.
There are also more ways today to get extra funds for home improvement projects. For example, remortgaging is one way to acquire extra capital for home renovations. However, since this is a complex financial process, homeowners must be careful taking this route. Research is crucial, but you can also speak to a mortgage broker about remortgaging for home improvement purposes.
Mortgage brokers like Trussle primarily help you save money and find the right mortgage, but they also provide financial advice on base rates, remortgaging, getting a mortgage in principle, and calculating stamp duty.
It’s also helpful that the mortgage broker experience has transitioned online. This transition gives homeowners access to 24/7 service, and online documents and increases the visibility of the progress of services. If someone is looking for extra funds, they know they can access an online mortgage broker without the hassle of setting up an in-person appointment, potentially weeks later.
Valuable Home Improvements
Now that you know what home improvement involves and the reasons behind the increasing number of these projects, we will look at some of the most valuable improvements you can make to your home.
Bathroom Remodel
A bathroom remodel can include updating toilets, tiles, counters, fixtures, and lighting. Over the last few years, the value of remodeling standard bathrooms into universally accessible ones has increased since it’s become apparent that we live in an aging society.
According to reports, the population aged 65 and over will grow to 83.7 million by 2025. This population was around 40 million in 2012. For these reasons, making small accessibility changes in bathrooms like lowering light switches and widening doorways for wheelchairs will benefit homeowners looking to sell as buyers grow older.
Exterior Enhancements
Most people think about the interior when it comes to home improvements, but enhancing your home’s exterior is just as important. One of the best-proven ways to do this is by adding manufactured stone veneer to the exterior of your home. For instance, in 2018, the national average return on investment for this type of project was 97.1%.
Manufactured stone veneer is a man-made composite material that gets shaped in molds; it can be used to update and modernize an old exterior. Even though it’s not real stone, manufacturing stone veneer is installed the same way.
Garage Door Replacement
Replacing your garage door may not be the most exciting home improvement, but it can offer a strong return on your investment. When you’re looking at upscaling your garage door, you should look at it like another long-term investment.
Even though wood may look the best, it’s not as weather-resistant as some other durable materials available for garage doors, such as aluminum and steel. Keep this in mind if you’re embarking on this home improvement project.
The home improvement market will continue to increase over the next few years. In part, this is because home renovations improve quality of life, but these projects are also good investments in the long run because they can increase a home’s value. Changes in the industry have also made it easier to complete home improvements, such as paying for these projects with sweat equity and remortgaging to get extra funds.