Cleveland, Ohio -- According to the 2018 Lightstream Home Improvement Survey, strong advances are expected to be posted in home improvement spending this year, with nearly 60% of U.S. homeowners planning a remodeling project. This is not surprising, given: the current high level of consumer confidence in their economic prospects, making homeowners more likely to commit to potentially expensive home renovations; rising home values that will encourage homeowners to take out home equity lines of credit to fund home improvements; and the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that preserved deductions allowing homeowners to write off the expenses for a number of home improvement projects.

According to the survey, nearly one in three homeowners plan to remodel a bathroom in 2018, while more than a fourth intend to undertake a kitchen renovation this year. “Home Kitchen and Bathroom Remodeling,” a new Freedonia Group study, highlights these segments of the U.S. home improvement industry, which account for about 25% of all U.S. spending on home improvement projects.

Bathroom renovations are among the most common home improvement projects. Some homeowners will renovate existing bathrooms to make them more senior-friendly or to create master bathrooms that add value and luxury to a residence, while others will add bathrooms to modernize their homes while enhancing convenience and boosting resale values.

Freedonia expects spending on kitchen renovations to post solid gains through 2022. For many Americans, the kitchen has become the focal point of the home, a place for not only preparing meals but for hosting family gatherings, entertaining guests, and even serving as a home office. To better accommodate the many roles of a kitchen in the modern home, many consumers will embark on kitchen renovation projects going forward, opting to: increase the size of their kitchens; install more and larger cabinets to provide additional storage space; add kitchen islands to facilitate meal preparation; install under-cabinet lighting to provide task lighting for meal preparation and to improve the visual appeal of a kitchen; lay down flooring – such as LVT or porcelain tile – to recreate the look of wood or stone for less cost; and install high-value countertops to impart a more luxurious appearance.

For more information, visit www.freedoniagroup.com.