Three-fourths of homeowners considering home improvement projects don't have a budget in mind when considering projects, according to the Q2 Homeowner Sentiment Survey from lead generation service Modernize. Despite many homeowners not considering budget when starting the home improvement process, 79% of respondents indicated that price was either important or somewhat important to their choice of contractor. Additionally, of the homeowners who had to pause or cancel projects, half said it was because the project was too expensive.
"The fact that price-sensitive homeowners start considering home improvement projects without a defined budget creates opportunity for market-savvy contractors by fostering a conversation around realistic project cost and making a customer feel informed and comfortable," Jason Polka, CEO of Modernize, said in a public statement. "Winning against the competition can come down to how clearly and helpfully that information is conveyed."
While many homeowners have not formed a budget before embarking on home improvement projects, many have spent a significant portion of time researching their project. Over half of respondents in the survey reported they spent between one and five hours researching before contacting a contractor and 10% dedicated more than 10 hours to such research. An important factor for researching homeowners is online reviews and ratings. One quarter of respondents said online reviews were important when choosing contractors, while one in five respondents indicated trade expertise was very important to their contractor selection process. Nearly 60% of respondents reported comparing three or more quotes ahead of selecting a contractor.
"As homeowners consider local contractors, they are increasingly turning to websites like the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, and even social media to look into a contractor's quality of work," said Polka.
The homeowner sentiment report also sheds light on ill-advised practices for contractors that can lose business. Unclear or confusing bids (24%), lack of communication (23%), and a perceived lack of expertise (19%) were the top three reasons a customer would not want to work with a contractor, according to Modernize.
Modernize's Homeowner Sentiment Survey is designed to help contractors better serve their market by gaining a quantitative understanding of how homeowners research and evaluate home improvement projects. The Q2 report summarizes the findings from more than 25,641 homeowners from April 2019 through June 2019.
