Renovation Costs Are Outrunning Savings, New Survey Finds

Renovation budgets are falling behind renovation costs, and more homeowners are turning to borrowing to close the gap. That's the headline from a new homeowner survey out of the UK — and while the figures are British, the underlying squeeze (bigger projects, thinner savings) is one we hear about from Canadian homeowners too.

What the survey found

According to Mortgage Soup, which surveyed 2,000 UK homeowners for its Home Improvements Report 2026, 61% would rather improve their current home than move over the next five years. But 67% said they'd delayed renovation work because they couldn't afford it, and 39% had put off more than one project.

The gap between ambition and savings is stark: 75% of respondents had less than £10,000 set aside, even though the most commonly cited budget for a "dream" renovation was £20,000 to £40,000. Half said they'd dip into savings to pay for a major renovation, but only 34% actually had a dedicated home improvement fund. Perhaps more strikingly, 28% said they'd consider doing complex renovation work themselves rather than hiring a professional, purely to save money.

Bathrooms were the project most often postponed (36% of respondents), followed by kitchens (33%) and window and door replacement (30%). Roof work was delayed by 24%, and heating upgrades by 22%. Separate tradesperson-platform data cited in the report put average UK costs at £5,725 for a bathroom renovation, £10,750 for a kitchen, £8,925 for windows and doors, £10,197 for a roof, and £5,050 for a heating upgrade.

The report also tracked how homeowners are financing the shortfall. The average approved home improvement loan grew from £9,527 in 2016 to £21,005 in 2025 — up 120.5% — and loan applications in the £20,000–£29,999 bracket rose 13% year-over-year in 2025, the fastest-growing borrowing band in the lender's data. Among those who'd rather renovate than move, the top reasons were satisfaction with their current home and neighbourhood (61%), the cost of moving (42%), the stress of relocating (42%) and high house prices (41%).

What this means in Canadian dollars

The UK figures aren't directly comparable to Canadian costs — labour rates and material supply chains are different — but the pattern of a dream budget outrunning actual savings is the one we see most often when homeowners come to us mid-quote, wondering if they're being overcharged or simply facing a realistic price.

Here's where the same five project types land in our live cost model for Canada, which we build from labour hours times local trade rates plus materials, then check against market pricing and real contractor quotes:

• Bathroom remodel: typically $20,000, with a realistic range of $15,600 – $26,000. Bathroom remodel
• Kitchen remodel: typically $28,100, range $21,900 – $36,500. Kitchen remodel
• Window replacement: typically $5,400, range $4,200 – $7,050. Window replacement
• Roof replacement (asphalt shingles): typically $9,000, range $7,050 – $11,700. Roof replacement
• Heat pump installation: typically $12,000, range $9,350 – $15,600. Heat pump installation

All figures are before GST/HST, which applies to renovation labour and materials across Canada.

Two things from the UK data are worth taking seriously here. First, the gap between a rough mental budget and an actual quote is exactly where people panic or get talked into cutting corners — which is also exactly when it's worth running the number through our "is my quote fair" tool before signing anything, rather than after. Second, the UK survey found over a quarter of homeowners considering DIY on complex work purely to save money. That instinct can make sense on cosmetic jobs like painting or simple flooring, but it's a false saving on anything involving electrical, gas or structural work: in most of Canada that work legally needs a licensed trade and a permit, and a botched DIY job tends to cost more to fix than it ever saved.

If you're staring at a renovation wish list that's bigger than your savings account, the practical move isn't to shrink the ambition — it's to phase it. A mid-range bathroom or a window replacement on their own are far more achievable than a full gut renovation in one go, and tackling the project that's actually failing (a leaking roof, a dying furnace) before the one that's merely dated keeps the budget honest. Get two or three quotes, compare them against a cost guide rather than a gut feeling, and build in the 10–15% contingency that most of these projects eventually need once the walls come open.