New Homeowners Spend an Average of $10K on Improvements

Washington, DC, July 7, 2017-A new consumer spending analysis from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) highlights another reason why home building helps drive a healthy economy: in their first year of ownership, new home buyers spend about $10,601 on appliances, furnishings and home improvement projects-2.6 times as much as other home owners in a typical year.

NAHB economists studied the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey to help quantify the wave of activity-and cash-spent to install new refrigerators, buy couches and make other improvements as new owners personalize their homes.

During the first two years after closing on the house, a typical buyer of a newly built single-family home tends to spend on average $4,500 more than a similar non-moving home owner.

A previous NAHB study based on 2004-2007 data collected during the housing boom showed somewhat higher spending by home owners overall. But the tendency of buyers to outspend non-moving owners on appliances, furnishings and home improvements was similar.  

In the aggregate, most of the demand for appliances, furnishings and remodeling projects in a given year is generated by non-moving homeowners, because they outnumber home buyers by such a wide margin.

But new owners’ impact is noticeable – and vital, MacDonald said. “The health of housing – and new home buying – is key to the overall state of our economy.”