Even as the tariff crisis bounces back and forth, new research shows that homeowners might scale back or even cancel projects.
There’s no question that the ever-changing situation with tariffs continues to cause havoc among American businesses but it’s also created problems for homeowners who had been looking at doing renovation projects this year.
As many as a quarter of these projects – ranging from large scale kitchen remodels down to much smaller household repairs – could be delayed or even abandoned, a new study from research and media company Zonda reports.
“Consumers are more price-sensitive since mid-2024,” Zonda’s building product specialist Todd Tomalak said. “That’s due to depleted pandemic-era savings, higher debt service payments and mortgage rate increases. Homeowners have finite money, and rising costs in one product can spill over into reduced spending on other products, even if those products have no direct tariff exposure.”
The new study reports that 27 percent of larger projects such as kitchen remodelings could be impacted with about 20 percent of smaller projects scaled back, delayed or even cancelled. Zonda research found that window and door upgrades are the most price-sensitive while flooring and electrical are less so.
Overall, Zonda said, “The industry should be prepared for an increase of about 9.3 percent” in pricing. “That takes into account not only direct costs from tariffs but also baseline inflation and knock-on costs from domestic manufacturers.” Of course, much of what actually happens will ultimately be impacted by how the situation with tariffs is finally settled and that seems to be a moving target.
