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Half of all U.S. homeowners plan to renovate in 2026, Houzz reports

More than half of all homeowners found the time and financial means to renovate their homes in 2025, with a higher share of millennials and Gen Z diving into the renovation world, according to Houzz's 2026 House & Home Study.

The annual report surveyed more than 20,000 Houzz users across the nation to figure out how Americans are budgeting for their projects, their reasons for renovating, the scope and spend of projects, and more.

According to Marine Sargsyan, the head of economic research at Houzz, home renovation is still continuing "at historic levels" while homeowners simultaneously "take a more cautious approach" to their projects.

"What’s driving this resilience is pent-up demand from homeowners who are finally able to act on long-planned renovations," Sargsyan said. "At the same time, we’re seeing a clear shift toward investing in forever homes rather than moving, with many adapting their spaces to meet changing needs."

Baby boomers still lead for renovation projects, but millennials and Gen Zers are starting to gain ground
Houzz's 2025 report put an emphasis on older homeowners prioritizing renovations to "age in place," but this year, younger homeowners are entering the spotlight for interior remodels and system upgrades.

While 50 percent of homowners plan to renovate this year, the report said the growing share of younger homeowners is creating a "generational shift" in renovation demographics. The percentage of millennials taking on renovation projects rose from 8 to 10 percent year-over year, and Gen Z now represents 0.5 percent of all renovating homeowners, compared to 0.2 percent in 2024.

A majority of Gen Z homeowners (63 percent) are renovating because they intend to customize their recently purchased homes, while the remaining share is renovating because they finally have the time (44 percent) or they're adapting to recent changes in their lifestyle (33 percent).

Baby boomers still account for more than half of all homeowners undertaking renovation projects, but Gen Xers are also gaining ground at 34 percent.

"For both Millennials and Gen Xers, having the financial means is the leading trigger (40 percent each), closely followed by or equal to having the time to take on projects (39 percent and 40 percent, respectively)," the report said. "Among older homeowners, timing is the primary driver. Baby Boomers most frequently cite finally having the time (40 percent) as the top reason for renovating, followed by financial readiness (34 percent)."

Budgeting needs and project scope
Homeowners are tackling renovations because they finally have the time or the financial means, the survey found. And nearly a third of homeowners are taking on extensive — and expensive — projects that cost $50,000 or more. Only 17 percent of all homeowners are spending more than $100,000 on their renovations.

The most common spend range is still between $10,000-$24,999, with 23 percent of homeowners picking renovation budgets within that bracket. However, 27 percent of homeowners are aiming to spend under $10,000.

When considering large-scale projects, one may want to account for any surprise costly repairs, upgrades, and other remodeling services. The report said many homeowners went over their intended spending in 2025.

"More than a third of renovating homeowners (37 percent) exceeded their planned project spend in 2025, compared with 35 percent who came in at budget and just 3 percent who completed projects under budget," Houzz said.

The five most common reasons a project went overbudget are "higher than expected costs," choosing more expensive materials than originally planned, unexpected complexity with project planning, project or design scope changes, and unexpected construction issues.

For interior projects, kitchens and bathrooms are the most popular projects homeowners (across all generations) are remodeling, and they have the biggest budgets.

Houzz 2026 House and Home Study, renovated kitchens It's time to upgrade your outdated kitchen.Photo by Joshua Nolden/Design by CROSS

"Kitchens commanded the highest median spend ($24,000, up from $22,000 in 2024), while the median spend on primary bathroom increased to $15,000 from $13,000 year over year," Houzz said. "Guest bathrooms also commanded a higher median spend in 2025 ($7,000, compared with $6,000 in 2024)."

As previously revealed in Houzz's 2026 Kitchen Trends study, renovators are focusing on functionality over looks for their kitchen upgrades. That means more built-in cabinet storage for specific needs, new sinks or countertops, and expanded kitchen areas with new features like beverage stations or walk-in pantries.

Top exterior and outdoor projects, plus enhanced security features
Roofing tops the list for most homeowners' exterior renovation projects, followed by windows and skylights, exterior painting, gutter upgrades, and exterior doors. Meanwhile, decks, sheds or workshops, upgraded lighting, and new furniture are the most common outdoor projects, the report found.

In today's modern age, smart security features are also a highlight for homeowners, such as wireless doorbell and indoor security cameras, smart garage door openers, and wireless door locks.

"Many homeowners also purchased alarms and detectors (28 percent) and TVs (27 percent), with a more even mix of
standard and smart options," Houzz said. "Among outdoor technology items purchased in 2025, homeowners
preferred smart security cameras over standard (25 percent versus 3 percent, respectively) but favored standard lighting fixtures over smart ones (21 percent versus 8 percent, respectively)."

Houzz 2026 House and Home Study, renovated bedroom

Photo courtesy of Refined Interiors/Houzz

Many homeowners aim to spend less than $10,000 on their home renovations this year.

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home design trends

Hottest bathroom renovation trends right now are all about self-care

Photo courtesy of Signature Designs Kitchens & Baths

Stone accent walls are a great way to make a bathroom look more natural.

The interior design experts at Houzz are unveiling the hottest renovation trends for Dallas homeowners who are ready to say goodbye their outdated bathrooms and step into updated, self-care retreats.

The "2026 U.S. Houzz Bathroom Trends Study" surveyed over 1,600 homeowners who are currently renovating or have recently completed a bathroom renovation to determine the top design choices, features, and the overarching goals for their projects.

"Homeowners want their bathrooms to work harder for them to support both daily routines and self-care," said Marine Sargsyan, Houzz head of economic research. "That's showing up in the numbers, with median spend rebounding to $15,000, and nearly half of homeowners making their showers bigger. Pros are helping their clients to reconfigure layouts and make more room for the features that elevate everyday comfort."

Below are the most sought-after bathroom upgrades in 2026.

Bathrooms stay relatively the same size, but self-care tops the priority list
One of the main highlights in the report was that half of all homeowners surveyed said they spent more time relaxing and "soaking up self care" in their bathrooms after renovations were finished. Fore 28 percent, that's for beauty and pampering routines, and for 23 percent, it's for rest and relaxation.

With this in mind, most homeowners also said they don't want their bathrooms to be larger and take away precious space in the primary bedroom. Instead, homeowners are making strategic improvements like reworking the bathroom layout; increasing the size of the shower area; or updating ventilation, heating, or plumbing.

"The vast majority of bathrooms (82 percent) keep their size after renovation, while just 1 percent shrink," the report said. "When bathroom footprints increase, they tend to be modest."

Additionally, about 90 percent of homeowners said they were hiring a professional to help with their renovation projects rather than doing it themselves. This takes away some of the stress of executing renovations, though it might come at a higher cost than a DIY project.

Top-picked styles and design details
The majority of homeowners (81 percent) update the style of their bathroom when they renovate, the report said, with transitional and contemporary styles leading as the most popular choices.

Specifically, homeowners are most often choosing solid wood (like maple and white oak) for their cabinets, and white or off-white quartzite for countertops, and white or off-white paint across the shower walls and non-shower walls. While this may seem sterile at first, about 34 percent of homeowners are including an accent wall to add a touch of personality to the space.

"Renovating homeowners who include an accent wall in their bathroom projects mostly use patterns to make them stand out (53 percent)," the report said. "Color is the second choice (48 percent), followed by surface material (45 percent) and texture (25 percent)."

Porcelain and ceramic tile are the top two choices for shower flooring and for the flooring outside the shower, Houzz reported.

Specialty features surging in popularity
Recessed lighting, bidet toilet seats, and mirrors with adjustable lighting color temperature are a few of the hottest specialty features being added to bathrooms, the report found.

"[A] third of renovating homeowners add a specialty mirror feature (33 percent), most often LED lighting (26 percent) or an antifog system (21 percent)," Houzz said.

For vanity updates, 61 percent of homeowners upgrade to entirely custom or semi-custom piece, and 21 percent of homeowners opt for stock models. These new vanities are most often wider than what was previously used, and feature soft-close drawers and doors. Built-in features — such as electrical outlets, hair tool organizers, and drawer organizers — are another popular choice for vanity upgrades.

Accessibility features for homeowners planning for the future
Nearly three quarters of homeowners are planning bathroom upgrades to address their future needs.

The top aging-in-place features incorporated by renovating homeowners are grab bars, continuous or nonslip flooring, low-curb or curbless showers, additional lighting, ADA-compliant toilets, and wheelchair-accessible doorways. Four percent of homeowners said they were lowering the height of their vanities, and two percent said they were lowering their shower fixtures.

Several of these ideas were also highlighted in Houzz's 2025 renovation trends report.

Photo courtesy of Signature Designs Kitchens & Baths

Stone accent walls are a great way to make a bathroom look more natural.

home design home design trends houzz bathrooms renovation