Part
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Part
01
Millennial DIY Motivations
The primary motivations for millennial first time homeowners to take on DIY home improvement projects include saving money, increasing home value, enhancing home livability, impressing friends, showing off before and after pictures on social media, amping up the beauty of their homes, and adding their own personality to their homes.
Why Millennials Prefer DIY Home Improvement Projects
- Over 70% of millennials prefer DIY home projects to hiring a professional.
- Almost 95% of millennials have some sort of home improvement project planned in the next three years. Millennial first-time homeowners are particularly interested in investing in starter homes or fixer uppers so they can make more substantial upgrades to these properties.
- A survey by Coinstar found that among first time homeowners who are millennials, 60% said that saving money is the main motivator for starting a DIY home project. The study revealed that 39% said increasing home value is the primary motivator for doing a DIY home project. Another motivator for these individuals is increasing the livability or functionality of their homes (35%).
- A study by Harris Poll revealed that almost 20% of millennial first-home homeowners mentioned impressing friends or sharing before and after pictures on social media as the main reasons they undertake a DIY home improvement project.
- Around 19% of millennials who undertake DIY projects do so to increase the beauty or aesthetics of their homes, while 15% do so to add durable materials or appliances to their homes.
- Millennials prioritize personalization. About 10% of first time homeowners within this demographic take on DIY projects to add their own personality to the home.
- To millennial first-time owners, undertaking a DIY home project is self-fulfilling. They consider this task an accomplishment. Millennials also say that undertaking DIY home projects makes them feel like adults.
Millennials: DIY Home Project Insights
- Millennials have the highest confidence when taking on DIY home projects, with 26% saying they are very skilled at them.
- Compared to other generations, millennials (70%) are most likely to create a budget for DIY home projects.
- About 80% of millennials who are first time owners are driven to complete a DIY home project urgently.
- The most popular DIY home projects done by millennials include closet renovation (69%), basement conversion to living area (56%), hardwood flooring refinish (56%), kitchen upgrade (51%), bathroom renovation (50%), attic conversion to living area (50%), and insulation upgrade (46%).
- Almost 45% of millennial homeowners "have felt embarrassed by their lack of home maintenance knowledge, while 60% feel pressure to make their home look a certain way in order to impress friends or acquaintances."
- About 31% of millennial homeowners find it embarrassing to tell their friends "that they hired someone for a home improvement project instead of opting to DIY."