COVID Construction and Renovations: Leave It to The Professionals

It has been months of sitting at home, and if you are like the countless other homeowners, then you have been probably staring down the list of renovations you have had planned for years.

There is no perfect time than now, right?

Well, sadly, the answer isn’t that simple.

While you may have more free time to practice your DIY skills, the home renovation and home construction industry has seen better days. Sure – a fresh coat of paint or a rearrangement of furniture can spruce up your space, but a real renovation is going to be difficult to get done on your own.

Let’s check out how COVID has affected the custom home and home remodelling industries and how you can make the best of it by using a professional for your next home project!

The Last Year

By the end of last year, the home renovation market was hitting a record high in Canada. A strange boom after a year of 5% decline, home improvements totalled $80 billion in 2019 – a tally that quickly outpaced the overall economy.

Then – COVID struck.

Immediately, sectors shrank left and right. Everything beyond personal goods was now a Want and not a Need. Home spending dropped with no prospects of when it might recover. The Atlus Group predicted that home renovations will fall for every province this year.

But was their prediction right?

The Reality of Home Construction

Despite all that keeps us down, there is nothing more powerful than being bored and needing something new!

August has been a remarkable period within Canada, as Ottawa reported a surge of new home construction, defying expectations. Up 6.9% from July, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. states this is the highest number of new homes since 2007. A stark contrast to last year where home renovation spending out did new home construction.

While September certainly didn’t break any records, it is interesting to note this industry’s strength during COVID. New homes during this time continued as per the status quo when compared to pre-pandemic numbers and the national average home price set another record in August 2020 at more than $586,000, up 18.5% from the same month last year.

As well, some provinces, such as Newfoundland and Labrador, have introduced new home construction and renovation rebates to benefit homeowners during these unpredictable times.

We can only assume these upward trends will continue as more Canadians gain stability with recovering job markets.

Leaving It to the Professionals

With the housing market and residential construction seemingly undisturbed by COVID’s industry effects, why would we start off by saying you “should leave the reno’s to the professionals”?

It comes down to one thing – scales of economy.

The unfortunate thing of it all, construction and renovations don’t exist in a vacuum. It is reliant on trade goods, and we can confidently say, building materials have seen better days.

With so many families and homeowners stuck inside, it was inevitable that renovations and projects would be underway. However, the surge in demand has left prices inflated for the average person. For example, the price of a spruce 2×4 has more than doubled since April.

For anyone completing their projects by themselves, this means you will be spending considerably more on materials while also competing for shortages against other DIY’ers.

For this reason alone, it is incredibly cost-efficient to have your project completed by home construction professionals. With the resources to buy in bulk, prices of lumber will have less of an effect on your final bill, not only saving you stress, but also cash!

Have a New Home in Mind?

If you’re like us, you probably wanted to know the status of Canadian homes before making the decision to build a new house. We don’t blame you.

But according to RBC, the pandemic, while life-changing, came with a silver lining for Canadians – home affordability. With previous year overnight rates cut and the increase of rebates and generous government support, buyer’s purchasing power has substantially increased over 2020.

There is no better time to plan your custom home, and no better company to trust than Stellar Homes. A family-owned business with over 20 years of home construction, we can help you save big on building supplies in a time where prices are high.

Give us a call today to see how we can help make your dream home a reality!