Renovation, remodeling to see banner year in 2013

Michael Chan and his family moved into their Bergenfield home almost five years ago, knowing all along that they wanted to renovate the cramped old kitchen in their 1940s colonial.

JERRY LUCIANI/STAFF ARTIST

Finally last summer, they decided the time was right.

The project, which cost about $50,000, included a total renovation, removing an interior wall to open up the space and breaking out into the yard to enlarge the kitchen's footprint.

"The main thing is that we wanted to increase the value of our home for resale," Chan said. "We looked at whether we wanted to buy a new house or fix our old one. We decided to fix it so it was livable for us but also functional and more attractive to sell down the road."

Chan said he felt that with the economy turning around, it was a safe time to make the investment. Now the family is also contemplating a bathroom renovation.

"I did always feel like the economy was holding me back," said Chan. "Since the housing market was going back up, I felt a little more confident that I could spend the money on it and hope to gain it back."

National statistics from home improvement groups show that Chan is among a growing number of homeowners who have finally decided to tackle a home improvement project.

Nationwide, third-quarter spending on remodeling activity in 2012 hit $121 billion, according to the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. The center's projection for the third quarter this year is an increase of almost 20 percent, to $145 billion.

The National Association of Home Builders' outlook is also positive, if not quite as rosy. It is predicting a 2.4 percent increase in remodeling spending for 2013 from 2012 and another 1.7 percent into 2014.

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Renovation, remodeling to see banner year in 2013