Homeowners across the U.S. are still improving their properties, but the latest industry data shows they are becoming more selective about where their money goes. In 2026, that shift is showing up most clearly in outdoor living, where patios, seating zones, and landscape work are drawing attention even as planned renovation budgets move lower.
Planned renovation spending is easing, while outdoor projects remain active
The clearest national snapshot comes from Houzz, which published its 2026 U.S. Houzz & Home Study on April 22 after surveying 20,358 users, including 10,176 renovating U.S. homeowners about projects completed in 2025 and plans for 2026. Houzz said the median renovation spend held at $20,000 in 2025, but the intended median spend for 2026 fell to $15,000, a sign that households are still moving forward with home projects while trimming budgets. The same study said 50% of homeowners planned to renovate in 2026, down from 52% a year earlier, which points to a modest pullback in activity rather than a stop in demand.
At the same time, the category drawing outsized attention is not a full kitchen gut job or a major addition. Houzz’s 2026 U.S. Outdoor Trends Study, based on a separate survey of 1,191 U.S. homeowners with recent or planned outdoor and exterior projects, found that 83% of renovated outdoor spaces include a lounge or seating area and 71% include a sofa or lounge chairs. The company also reported that landscape contractors were the most frequently hired outdoor professionals, with the share of homeowners using them rising five percentage points to 26%. Those figures indicate that homeowners are still spending, but more often on targeted upgrades that extend everyday living space.
That pattern is also visible outside Houzz’s own research. Fixr’s 2025 Outdoor Living Trends Report said 56% of experts believed homeowners were more willing to invest in outdoor spaces in 2025 than in 2024, and 98% said updated outdoor areas have a significant effect on home value. While methodologies differ from one survey to another, the direction is similar: when households decide where to allocate limited home-improvement dollars, outdoor areas are increasingly part of the core plan rather than an afterthought.
The shift is national, though the exact state-by-state winners are not fully broken out
The available data does not point to one single state leading the trend, and that is an important limitation for readers looking for a local ranking. Houzz’s national studies describe U.S. homeowner behavior overall, but the company has not released a comprehensive public breakdown naming every state where renovation spending fell the most or where outdoor living spending rose the fastest. What is confirmed is that the shift is broad enough to show up in national survey results and in industry forecasts that track owner improvement spending across the country.
Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies said in its latest Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity that annual spending on improvements and maintenance to owner-occupied homes is expected to slow through 2026. The center projected year-over-year growth of 2.1% in the middle of 2026 before easing to 1.6% by the end of the year. That forecast does not mean homeowners are abandoning home investment. Instead, it suggests a slower-growth environment in which smaller, more focused projects can compete better against large-scale interior remodels that often come with higher labor costs, permit requirements, and budget overruns.
Realtor.com, citing the same Harvard indicator, reported that total spending on home improvements and maintenance could still reach $522 billion by the end of 2026 even as growth moderates. That combination matters at the household level. A market can still be large in dollar terms while consumers become more cautious about which projects they choose first. Outdoor seating areas, landscape work, and backyard functionality fit that environment because they can often be done in phases, scaled to budget, and used immediately, unlike some larger remodels that require longer construction timelines. The public data does not yet provide a full state-by-state map of this shift, but the national pattern is increasingly clear.
Higher costs, aging homes, and stay-put owners are reshaping what gets funded
The reason behind the shift is less about homeowners losing interest in their homes and more about changing constraints. Houzz reported that 52% of homeowners who exceeded their budgets cited unexpected product or service costs. In the company’s 2026 renovation coverage, it also said homeowners planning projects remain committed to staying in place, with more than 4 in 5 renovating instead of buying another home because they want to remain in their current property. That creates a practical spending calculation: if owners are staying put, they may choose improvements that add usable space without taking on the cost and disruption of a major interior overhaul.
Harvard’s housing researchers have pointed to broader structural pressures as well. The Joint Center for Housing Studies said improvement and repair spending is expected to downshift as interest rates, construction conditions, and retail sales of building materials continue to shape homeowner decisions. The National Association of Home Builders has also cited the aging housing stock as an ongoing support for remodeling demand, but that does not automatically favor every project type equally. In a slower-growth market, essential repairs, replacement work, and lower-disruption upgrades can move ahead while some discretionary interior remodels get delayed or reduced in scope.
For homeowners, the practical takeaway is that the home-improvement market in 2026 is still active, but the money is being distributed differently. Large renovations have not disappeared, and Houzz said high-end spending still increased at the upper end of the market, with the 90th percentile reaching $150,000 in 2025. But for the median household, the current trend is toward smaller planned budgets and more targeted investments, especially in outdoor living areas that function as extensions of the home. Industry data so far suggests that readers should expect continued renovation activity this year, but with more emphasis on selective projects that balance cost, use, and flexibility.