Renovating for resale used to be the default frame for every home project:
would the kitchen pay for itself, would the deck return 70% at sale, would
gray walls photograph well for the listing. In 2026, that frame is quietly
collapsing. In Great Day Improvements’ inaugural State of American Home
Renovation report,
a survey of more than 3,000 US homeowners, just 8% named resale value as a
main motivator for their projects. Aesthetics (19%) and comfort or
livability (18%) each beat it by more than two to one. Homeowners aren’t
remodeling for the next owner anymore — they’re remodeling for themselves.
The numbers behind the shift
This isn’t happening because people stopped spending. Harvard’s Joint
Center for Housing Studies expects homeowner remodeling spending to reach
a record of roughly $524 billion
this year, with growth continuing — slowly — into 2027. Canada tilts even
harder toward fixing up what you own: renovation now makes up the majority
of residential construction investment, about $103 billion versus $86
billion for new home building, according to
Altus Group.
What changed is why people spend. Two forces are doing most of the work:
- Nobody’s moving. High prices and mortgage rates locked millions of
North Americans into their current homes. If you’re staying ten more
years, “what will a buyer pay for this?” is the wrong question — “do I
like living here?” is the right one. - Renovation-as-investment lost its shine. Material costs are up,
renovation budgets have tightened,
and resale-payback percentages on big remodels have been mediocre for
years. Once the spreadsheet stops promising a return, the honest reasons
— comfort, function, taste — take over.
You can see the same logic in the rise of
aging-in-place renovations:
walk-in showers and main-floor bedrooms rarely wow a buyer, but they let
the current owner stay happily for decades. That’s renovation as a
consumption good, not an investment product.
What comfort-first renovating means for homeowners
Permission to personalize is real — but it comes with a smart middle
ground. A useful rule: spend freely on the reversible and the invisible,
carefully on the permanent.
- Personalize the changeable stuff. Paint, lighting, hardware, tile,
bold color choices — these are cheap to redo, so make them yours without
guilt. - Keep big-ticket money on universally wanted things. A sound roof,
efficient windows, updated wiring, a functional
kitchen remodel
— these serve you now and protect value later, whatever the market
thinks of your style. - Energy efficiency is the quiet overlap. Lower bills while you live
there, a selling point if you ever leave. It’s the one category where
“for me” and “for resale” still point the same direction.
One more finding worth knowing: renovation is emotional. In the same
survey, 43% of homeowners said projects bring excitement — but 36% said
stress and 28% said anxiety. If a remodel is for your own enjoyment, a
chaotic six months of dust defeats the purpose. That makes choosing the
right pro more important, not less.
What it means for the pros
For contractors and remodelers, the pitch is changing under your feet. The
ROI chart that closed deals in 2019 is aimed at the 8%. The other 92% are
buying a feeling: a warmer living room, a kitchen that fits how the family
actually cooks, a bathroom that works at 75. Pros who ask “how do you want
this space to live?” — and who communicate clearly enough to take the
stress out of the process — are speaking the market’s current language.
That’s a real edge for a
kitchen remodeling pro
competing on more than price.
Planning a project that’s finally just for you? Find vetted local pros who
build for how you live —
Get quotes on MastersGuild.
