Steve Payne
Renovation spending in Canada reaches $63.4-billion, pushed by 'HGTV Effect'
Canadian Contractor Business canada ProductA whopping 3.7 per cent of total Canadian gross domestic product is spent on home renovations. The industry has been growing, even accounting for inflation, every year for 15 years.
Canada’s renovation industry is now bigger than the new homes sector, reaching $63.4-billion, according to a report from Toronto-based real estate consultants Altus Group.
Altus says that the boom in home renovations is being driven by what it calls the “HGTV Effect.” The home renovations-oriented TV station was launched in 1997. Home renovation spending has been rising every year since 1999, even in the face of a serious recession that hit Canada in 2008.
Last year, the renovation industry accounted for a whopping 3.7 per cent of total Canadian gross domestic product, the report says.
The renovation industry grew 2.7% last year in “real” dollars (after factoring in for inflation). Altus is predicting even bigger growth in our industry this year, at 3.0%.
Over the past five years, renovation per occupied housing unit was about $4,600 – up from $2,500 during the pre-recessionary 1994-1998 period.
Read an excellent report on the study, in the National Post here.
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