It appears DIY is not a big part of the DNA of Big D. A new study shows residents of Dallas-Fort Worth are much more inclined to hire a pro than go it alone when it comes to home improvement projects.
The study, released by personal finance website NerdWallet, crunches home improvement statistics (drawn from U.S. Census Bureau surveys) for the country’s 15 largest metro areas. The study indicates just 26 percent of home dwellers in DFW take home improvement projects into their own hands; only Washington, D.C., has a lower share of do-it-yourselfers among the 15 regions (23 percent).
In other words, it seems that fewer people in Dallas are roaming the aisles of Home Depot and Lowe’s than residents of other major metro areas are.
Dallas residents also spend more on home improvements than their major-metro counterparts. Home upgrades in the Metroplex account for 2.2 percent of household income — the highest rate among the 15 metro areas in the study. The median price tag for a DFW project is $2,000.
The cost of projects done by the pros in DFW really raises the roof, though.
“Projects done by professionals cost a median $3,000, among the highest costs in the nation,” NerdWallet home analyst Holden Lewis says. “Why? My guess is that the Dallas-Fort Worth area was hit by multiple hailstorms during the [Census Bureau] survey period, and roof repairs are expensive and usually done by professionals.”
No matter who completes home improvements, DFW has a lot of projects going on. From 2015 to 2017, area residents nailed down 1.44 home improvement projects per owner-occupied home, according to the study. Only Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia had higher rates in that category.
“Each city has its own vibe and way of doing things, including home improvements,” Lewis says. “I mean, Detroit has Greek food and snow, and Dallas has Mexican food and hail. And they’re different in how much homeowners spend on home improvements, what kinds they do, and how often they tackle do-it-yourself projects. Like food, culture, and weather, all cities have their differences when it comes to home improvements.”
