Home renovation spending tops $77 billion

July 31, 2018

On average, Canadian homeowners are spending more than $6 billion a month on renovations and the industry is expanding at more than 3 per cent a year, according to an Altus Group study released July 25.
In 2017 total national spending on home improvements and repairs hit $77.7 billion, according to Altus, with Ontario representing 40 per cent of the market at $31.6 billion.
It is projected that 2018 will see renovation expenditures increase to $80.1 billion and rise to $82.3 billion the following year.
Home renovation spending easily eclipses Canada’s new home construction market, which tallied $59.1 billion in 2017, the Altus Housing Report noted.
“Renovation spending has been achieving a higher rate of growth than the overall economy since 2014. While growth in renovation spending is forecast to slow somewhat from last year’s pace, we expect it will continue to outperform the growth rate for the overall economy through 2019,” the report stated.
It appears there are plenty of opportunities for renovation contractors in the years ahead.
Altus highlighted the 2016 Census of Canada which identified about 920,500 housing units that were in need of major work on aspects such as defective plumbing or electrical wiring, and structural repairs to walls, floors or ceilings.