With the economic change over the last 2 years we have seen a steady decrease in personal home renovations. The norm used to be owner’s would invest money into their home (i.e. new kitchen, bath, finished basement; etc) and see an immediate return on their investment through resale. Those times have come and gone. The lion’s share of renovations taking place these days are by developers who purchase worn property, and renovate the entire building. The number of renovations has decreased because of a couple reasons: 1) The cost of renovating is much higher than it used to be. Labor & material have become so expensive that the profit margin is negligible. 2) It has become more cost efficient to buy a property that has already been renovated by someone else within the last 10 years. Buyer’s can now get a finished home for a discounted price, as opposed to paying a premium to renovate.

The more common work owner’s are doing these days is out of necessity, not desire. For example… If the windows are drafty, replace them. If the basement has a water problem, solve it. If the paint is chipping, paint it. If a roof is failing, replace it .