Home-project price perceptions

Home projects are often more expensive than consumers’ think, according to findings from a recent survey from Discover Home Equity Loans.

The new survey found that while the majority of consumers want to make home improvements within the next year or sooner, many may find that they're short on funds to complete the job.

The company used the findings to promote the value of a home equity loan. “There are a lot of benefits of using a home equity loan to complete a home improvement project,” said PK Parekh, senior VP of Discover Home Equity Loans, in a press release announcing the findings.

Those findings included:

• Kitchen and bathroom remodels top the list of planned projects with 37% of respondents saying they are planning for each of those home improvements.


• More than half, 52%, of respondents plan to make home improvements in the next year or sooner, with 25% planning a project within the next three months. Forty percent of people said they are planning a home improvement project to increase the value of their home.


• The survey found that 64% of respondents think that their home improvement project will cost under $15,000. According to Remodeling.net, bathroom remodels can cost between $19,000 and $61,000 while kitchen remodels can run up to double the price, with costs ranging from $63,000 to $125,000.


• Thirty-four percent of respondents say they would prefer to use cash for a home improvement project, followed by 23% saying they would use a credit card.


• While forty-six percent of respondents had over $100,000 of equity in their home that they could tap into to finance a project only 38% said that they are planning to leverage that equity, whether through a home equity line of credit (18%), home equity loan (13%), or a cash-out refinance (seven percent). Millennials reported being the most open to loans on their home equity with 20 percent indicating this would be a good option for them.