HIB OriginalPricing
Houzz 2026 study: median renovation spend holds at $20,000
More than half of homeowners renovated in 2025 and the median spend held at $20,000. What the 2026 Houzz & Home study found about budgets, financing and plans.
Top stories
HIB OriginalKitchen
2026 kitchen trends: warm wood, smarter storage and statement lighting
Wood grain is overtaking painted cabinets, beverage stations are in and kitchens are getting bigger. The key numbers from the NKBA’s 2026 Kitchen Trends report.
HIB OriginalHVAC
Heat pumps keep gaining ground with U.S. homeowners
More homeowners understand heat pumps, more have one, and nine in ten owners would recommend them. What a recent survey found and what to ask your HVAC contractor.
HIB OriginalBathroom
What the NKBA’s 2026 Bath Trends report covers — and how to use it
The National Kitchen & Bath Association surveyed nearly 700 pros for its 2026 Bath Trends report. Here is what it covers and how to use it when you plan a bathroom.
HIB OriginalRenovate
Remodeling spending growth set to slow sharply by early 2027
Harvard’s remodeling indicator projects spending growth will slow to just 0.5% by early 2027, below inflation. Here is why, and what it means for homeowners.
Latest from the web
About Home Improvement Box
Home Improvement Box brings the home improvement news that matters to U.S. homeowners into one place. Every few minutes we check trade publications, research groups and industry associations for new reporting on roofing, HVAC, solar, plumbing, kitchens and baths, permits and project costs. Each headline links straight to the publisher that reported it, so you always read the full story at the source and can see at a glance who is covering what.
Home improvement news, explained
Headlines alone don’t tell you what to do about your own house, so we pair the news with our own write-ups. When a remodeling spending forecast, a heat pump survey or a design trends report comes out, we explain what it found and what it could mean for your next project, and we name and link every source so you can check the numbers yourself. Recent examples include Harvard’s remodeling spending forecast, the 2026 Houzz renovation study and new heat pump adoption figures.
Home improvement costs and guides
Our evergreen guides answer the questions homeowners ask most: what a project should cost, when you need a permit, what to ask a contractor before you sign, and how to look after the work once it’s done. Start with our cost guides and pricing data, or pick a trade:
- Roofing: replacement, repairs, ventilation and gutters
- HVAC: heat pumps, furnaces and air conditioning
- Solar: panels, batteries and maintenance
- Plumbing: water heaters, pipes and fixtures
- Kitchens and bathrooms: layouts, remodels and trends
- Permits and codes: when a project needs approval
Independent and transparent
We are independent. Our cost data is aggregated from public bidding records, trade-association rate cards, prevailing-wage filings and contractor surveys, and our editorial standards and methodology page explains how every range is built. We may earn money from advertising and affiliate links, but those relationships never decide which stories we feature or what our guides recommend.
Follow the news your way
Use the topic bar to follow one trade, or the filters on the Latest list to narrow the feed to a single subject or to our own articles. Sign up for the free daily briefing to get the day’s most useful home improvement news in your inbox, and if you know a publication we should be following, tell us.
