Most renovations are paid in cash — until the job gets big

Most home improvement projects get paid for out of savings, but once the job turns into a big one — a failed furnace, a roof that's given out — homeowners reach for borrowed money instead. That's the pattern in a new analysis from LendingTree, reported by National Mortgage Professional.

What the data shows

According to National Mortgage Professional, cash savings funded 75.7% of home improvement projects in the LendingTree analysis, far ahead of credit cards (6.3%), home equity loans (3%) and cash-out refinancing (2.3%). But the size of the job is what really separates the two camps: the median cash-funded project cost an estimated US$1,902, against US$7,924 for projects paid for with a home equity loan. Those are US dollar figures, drawn from the Census Bureau's 2023 American Housing Survey and expressed in 2025 dollars — there's no Canadian equivalent in the data, but the underlying pattern (small jobs from the chequing account, big jobs on borrowed money) tends to hold wherever people own homes.

The outlet also reported on what homeowners are actually fixing. The single biggest category combined water heaters, dishwashers and garbage disposals, at 11.7% of projects. HVAC installation or replacement came next at 9.1%, with roofing repairs or replacements at 5.9%. Nearly six in ten owner-occupied homes in the survey did some kind of improvement over its two-year reference period, adding up to roughly 139.9 million projects across 51.6 million homes — an average of 2.7 projects per improved home. Separately, estimated annual routine maintenance averaged US$1,433 per owner-occupied home, rising to US$1,706 for homes built before 1940.

LendingTree's Matt Schulz, quoted in the piece, put the financing logic simply: "Some fixes are optional, but others, such as replacing a damaged roof or a broken HVAC system, simply can't be postponed for long."

What it means for the cost of common jobs here

The categories that pushed people toward borrowing in the US survey — hot water, heating and roofing — are exactly the ones Canadian homeowners can't put off either, and they sit at a wide range of price points depending on what fails and when.

A straight water heater swap is the cheapest of the three to plan for: a like-for-like gas or electric tank typically runs $1,950 – $3,200, typical $2,500, before GST/HST. Switching to a tankless or heat pump unit costs more upfront but changes the maintenance math over time — see Water heater replacement for the full breakdown by type.

Heating is where a sudden failure gets expensive fast. A furnace replacement typically runs $4,300 – $7,200, typical $5,500; a full ducted heat pump system is $9,350 – $15,600, typical $12,000, before GST/HST. If you're in Ontario, the Home Renovation Savings program can take a bite out of a cold-climate air-source heat pump — up to $7,500 for electric, oil, propane or wood-heated homes, or up to $2,000 for gas-heated Enbridge customers — provided you get pre-approval and use a participating contractor. Homeowners with oil heat should also check the federal Oil to Heat Pump Affordability program before it closes; it's worth up to $10,000, or up to $25,000 where it's co-delivered with the province, though applications close 31 July 2026 in Alberta, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Quebec and Saskatchewan. The Canada Greener Homes Grant itself is now closed to new applicants.

A roof is the job most likely to force a financing decision, simply because of its size: a full shingle replacement typically runs $7,050 – $11,700, typical $9,000, before GST/HST, and that's before accounting for a steep pitch, multiple layers to tear off, or a complex roofline with dormers and valleys. See Roof replacement for how material choice and roof shape move the price.

The financing question

The US data is a reminder that "how will I pay for this" is a real planning step, not an afterthought — cash for the routine stuff, a line of credit or loan for the big, unavoidable repair. Before signing up for either, it's worth getting more than one quote. If a number already feels high, our "is my quote fair" tool checks a specific quote against local labour and material costs so you're not guessing.

And remember that GST or HST (13% in Ontario, 5% GST in Alberta) gets added on top of every figure above — budget for it alongside whatever financing you choose. Electrical, gas and plumbing work on these jobs will also usually need a licensed trade and a permit, which is worth confirming with your contractor before work starts, not after.