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The Wait to Renovate
Luis Orozco, with his three daughters, and his wife, Birgit, thought about buying a larger house, but decided to renovate instead after finding they could not afford to move up in their own neighborhood.
(Photos By Hans Ericsson For The Washington Post)
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The increase in homeowner spending nationwide has been on the order of 5 percent a year for the past three years, according to the center's Remodeling Futures Program. In the 12 months that ended in March, it totaled $130 billion.
Both the center and the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, a trade group, predict renovation outlays will continue to grow, despite concerns about a possible downturn soon in the housing market. Their confidence, they say, is based on the big build-up of equity in homes and the expectation that Generation Xers and immigrants will generate strong household growth in the next decade.
For some, though, the bigger question is not whether they need an upgraded house, but whether to renovate or just start over.
David Tay and his wife, Choon Chin Tian, went on a recent tour of remodeled houses sponsored by the Remodelors Council of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association, to get an idea of prices and design firms' work.
In an interview then, Tay said the couple hoped to sell their Fairfax townhouse soon and buy a larger, older house close in to rebuild or tear down or a new home farther out, but were leaning toward the close-in option to avoid longer commutes.
Their biggest dilemma, he said, was whether to invest the $350,000 to $400,000 required for a whole-house remodel. "We've done our research, so we know that's expected," Tiansaid .
This week, the couple had made a decision, sort of. "In the end, we're actually buying my parents' house in McLean and we're going to demolish and rebuild," Tay said. "Then the house is still within the family, and it will saves us a lot of commuting time."
Just renovating an old house, he said, doesn't seem to make much sense. "We can get a new house [from one builder] for $349,000, not including the lot work, prep work, permits and demolition costs."
However, the siblings haven't all signed on, especially the one who now lives in the house. "If it all falls apart, then we move to plan B, which is buying a newer house," Tay said.
