American homeowners spent more than a half-trillion dollars on home improvement projects in recent years, but they say inflation and a potential recession will be factors in how much they take on moving forward.

From 2019 to 2021, American homeowners undertook some 135 million home improvement projects, spending an estimated $624 billion, according to the most recent American Housing Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. That’s an increase of about $100 billion in home improvement spending over the previous survey period (2017-2019).

This two-year period began before any of us knew the COVID-19 pandemic was coming, and it stretched through lockdowns and ambitious stuck-at-home DIY projects and into a housing market where homes — even those in disrepair — were selling for a mint. Any one of these factors could affect how people spend money on improving their homes. There’s little doubt that every one of them did.

"The pandemic triggered a lot of home improvements,” says NerdWallet home and mortgage expert Holden Lewis. “The shutdowns compelled homeowners to repurpose living spaces into offices and classrooms. People living in small houses and cramped apartments sought bigger digs in suburbia. Each of these developments led to renovations, whether to make homes more livable or to prepare them for sale."

In this third biennial NerdWallet Home Improvement Report, we analyze the latest American Housing Survey data covering 2019 to 2021, when homeowners were asked between May 3 and Sept. 30, 2021, about their projects during the “previous two years.” We pair this with findings from a nationally representative NerdWallet survey conducted online by The Harris Poll from Sept. 27-29, 2022, asking 1,404 homeowners about their home improvement activities and sentiment.

» 2020 Home Improvement Report

» 2018 Home Improvement Report

Here's what's inside this year's report:

• State of home improvements

• DIY vs. professional

• Paying for projects

• Upcoming projects

• Costs and economic considerations

• Methodology

Key findings

Home improvement projects and spending grew significantly. The number of home improvement projects grew 17% to 134.8 million in the 2019-2021 period. Spending grew 20% to $624 billion, according to American Housing Survey data.

Homeowners DIY’d nearly 53 million of their projects. Do-it-yourself, or DIY, projects accounted for 39% of total projects and 20% of total spending in the two-year census survey period.

The share of homeowners “easily” able to pay for improvements decreased. Fewer than half (42%) who took on home improvement projects over the past two years say they were able to easily pay for most of them without tapping into savings, going into debt or making sacrifices, according to the recent NerdWallet survey. That’s down from 52% who said the same thing when we asked in 2020.

Most planned improvements aren’t targeting potential home buyers. Just 20% of homeowners considering home improvements in the next two years say it’s to make their home more attractive to potential buyers. Instead, the most commonly cited reasons include making it more comfortable (54%) and simply feeling more satisfied with it (52%), according to the survey.

Upcoming projects may hinge on the economy. While homeowners anticipate spending $7,746, on average, on home improvement projects over the next two years, inflation (44%) and whether or not we’re in a recession (27%) are just a few of the economic factors that will play a role in many of their decisions, the survey found.

The state of home improvements

Homeowners spent $624 billion on home repair and improvement projects during the two-year period covered by the 2021 American Housing Survey. This marks a doubling, from about $300 billion, in just a decade.

Considering current inflation, it would be easy to write off this increase as a matter of higher costs, but that’s not it: The number of projects increased during this period from about 94 million in the 2013 survey to 134.8 million in 2021 — a rise of 44%.