It’s obvious that first time home buyers face many challenges. They need to save their down payment, closing costs and qualify for a mortgage. But, once they have closed on their home, record numbers of these first time buyers are spending large amounts on renovations to their new homes. The average first time buyer, in 2016, spent $33,800 on renovating their new homes according to a recent survey.
And they are not doing simple renovations. Many are doing up to four rooms at once. And they’re doing the more major projects, such as kitchens and baths. It seems the days of slapping on a new coat of paint have gone past us.
And many are retro fitting their new homes with smart home technology.
Why are they doing this? It’s pretty simple. It’s the natural response to the lack of affordable homes. They are purchasing homes that need more than simple cosmetic upgrades because that is what is available. We’ve seen this ourselves. Our daughter bought a home in our development to be close to the primary babysitters – us. Within two weeks I received a call saying the kitchen was demolished and they were ready to take down a wall, but they didn’t know how. So they called me to help. The old kitchen was pretty disgusting, but it was the only available home in their price range in the area where they wanted to live. They’ve since done over all 3 baths and have added a family room.
BTW – I ended up as the general contractor on that one.