While remodeling is as hot as ever and homeowners are increasingly looking to undertake projects on their homes, many jump into projects without realistic ideas of how much these projects will cost. In addition to considering projects without budgets, homeowners also routinely struggle to accurately estimate home-improvement-project costs.
A study from Discover Personal Loans finds that 78% of homeowners underestimated how much it would cost to remodel a kitchen based on average costs from HomeAdvisor and nearly half underestimated every remodeling project included in the study. The study found respondents underestimated kitchen remodels by an average of $9,532. Homeowners also typically underestimate the costs associated with cabinet re-facing projects, with homeowners estimating such projects will cost nearly three-fourths less than in reality.
Labor is the most common factor that homeowners fail to account for, according to Discover. Labor can account for over a third of the renovation project and homeowners are largely unaware of the large portion of the cost that labor represents. The rising cost of materials and increasingly high labor costs due to the labor shortage likely mean that homeowners will continue to underestimate the fees associated with their planned remodeling projects.
Discover Personal Loans' study, conducted by Fractl, pooled answers from 969 adult residents in the United States. Questions asked respondents about their perceptions of how much certain items cost when it comes to home improvement projects and other costs. Discover reported the results with a maximum margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.15 percentage points.
