Mooresville, NC, October 5-- A national survey of female homeowners, commissioned by Lowe's for the fourth consecutive year, reveals women, especially Hispanic women, are taking a larger role in the home improvement arena to prepare themselves for not only homeownership, but also the long-term upkeep and maintenance involved.
In fact, recent Lowe's survey findings indicate that 67 percent of all women and 79 percent of Hispanic women feel prepared to be solely responsible for their home, including maintenance, repairs and improvement.
Also, more than half (54 percent) of Hispanic women identify themselves as intermediate do-it-yourselfers, while 49 percent of all women and 44 percent of African American women consider themselves intermediate do-it-yourselfers.
"Proving to be self-reliant, today more women are putting home improvement projects on their to-do list," said Julie Sussman and Stephanie Glakas-Tenet, authors of "Dare to Repair," the best-selling D-I-Y book. "It's the power of confidence which allows women to have the take charge, do-it-yourself attitude."
The do-it-yourself home improvement trend also is hooking younger generations early on and keeping older generations longer. Nearly half (49 percent) of women tackled their first home improvement or repair project between the ages of 21 and 30. In addition, 38 percent of all women between the ages of 18 and 34 consider home improvement elementary, reporting they tackled their first home repair between the ages of 11 and 20.
Older women, especially Hispanic women, continue to hone their do-it-yourself skills as seniors. In fact, 77 percent of Hispanic women say they would tackle home improvement projects on their own after the age of 55 versus 74 percent of all women and 64 percent of African American women.
Lowe's survey also reports more women (40 percent) state that basic home repair skills are more important to pass on to younger generations than basic car repair and basic household skills. Specifically, 47 percent of Hispanic women agreed that basic home repair skills are more important for today's youth.
Below are other key findings from this year's Lowe's survey:
* While more than three-fourths of all female homeowners (78 percent) own a combination of hand tools and power tools, 74 percent of African American women and 62 percent of Hispanic women own a combination of hand tools and power tools.
* Approximately 70 percent of all women do-it-yourselfers prefer working with at least one other person, such as a friend, significant other or neighbor, on home improvement projects.
* More than half (58 percent) of all women do-it-yourselfers are early risers.
* Fifty-two percent of all women in the Lowe's survey say they would like to receive a home improvement-related gift in place of any other gift for their birthday (21 percent) or the holidays (31 percent).
* The majority of women do-it-yourselfers (90 percent) consider themselves simple self-starters who work in basic jeans and a t-shirt.
