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By: Beverly Kane
Arbitron, a major media service, uncovered who's really doing,
"Do it yourself, home improvements".
An average of 49 percent of the adult population in 75 cities
throughout the country made a home improvement of some kind,
in the past 12 months, as reported in a new study by Scarborough
Research. The results show that people who live in smaller
areas are more inclined to do their own home improvements
in comparison to those who live in larger big-city, areas.
In cities like Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who came in at number
one, Buffalo, New York and Toledo, Ohio, it's reported that
over half of their population has begun a home improvement
project in the past 12 months.
55 Percent or more of the population in the cities of Atlanta,
Rochester, Indianapolis, Detroit and Cincinnati have either
started or finished a home improvement project, landing them
in the top 10, of all the areas reported.
Ranking lowest, Honolulu, Hawaii was reported to have only
37 percent of it's population doing their own home improvements
in the last 12 months, making Honolulu number 75 out of all
cities accounted for. In bigger cities like Fresno, Las Vegas,
Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, Chicago, San Francisco,
Miami and Washington DC, it was reported their population
as doing less than the average number of repairs to their
homes with percentages in ranging from 40 to 48.
With all the home improvement happening by do it yourselfers
in smaller communities, it would appear that this is the arena
in which companies offering materials and services geared
toward home improvement, would do the majority of their advertising.
Among the above findings, it was also reported that do it
yourselfers were more apt to paint or wallpaper their interiors
or try their hand at landscaping, with a telling twenty-five
percent of all surveyed. A small percentage (two) were said
to install their own home security systems, while a mere one
percent add a pool or spa.
Studies show, since 1999, people have dished out 30 percent
more money to improve the overall look of their homes. The
average cost of today’s home improvement is over $3,000!
If history repeats itself, that number will likely continue
to climb.
A resounding 46 percent of all do it yourselfers were between
the ages of 35 and 54, and 63 percent are married with 55
percent having a total household income of over $50,000.
But there's more to this story! The Scarborough Research
study also uncovered the following interesting facts.
People who use the internet will likely turn to do it yourself
home improvement, as opposed to those who do not. And note-worthy
enough of those internet users, the ones who search out financial
services, vehicle information and frequent auction sites are
even more apt to do their own home improvement!
Music lovers of classic, country and 70's along with sports
radio fans are 14 percent more likely than the average to
do home improvements too! The breakdown for do it yourself
home improvements, go like this:
Of those fifty three percent who remodeled their own kitchens,
just four percent broke down and paid for the work to be done.
Ranking high among what most home improvement do it yourselfers
are doing, include painting and wallpapering, remodeling bathrooms
and landscaping. Projects that do it yourselfers would rather
pay to have done include the installation of home security
systems, carpeting or flooring and heating or air conditioning.
About The Author
Beverly Kane is a staff writer at http://homeimprovementgazette.com
and is an occasional contributor to several other websites,
including http://www.theshoppinggazette.com.
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