Property renos hit 4-year high

Commenting on the findings, “The Happy Renovator” author Werine Erasmus said the results are likely partly due to the HomeBuilder scheme, but also to an increase in the number of people undertaking renovations during the lockdown.

“The problem with many renovators who attempt to complete projects in their ‘spare time’ is that they often don’t have any time to spare!” Ms Erasmus said.

“However, the lockdown created the ideal conditions for many people to restart or finish their renovation projects.”

Looking ahead, Ms Erasmus expects renovations will continue to grow in popularity as more people continue to work from home or perhaps move to part-time employment.

Despite this, however, she noted that it’s important to figure out exactly how much you have to spend before pushing ahead.

“While I advocate a part-time work and part-time renovation strategy, it’s vital that you don’t attempt a renovation or upgrade without educating yourself about what’s really involved,” Ms Erasmus said.

“The reason why we see so many half-finished renovation projects come up for sale is that people spend too much and run out of money or they make costly mistakes that they can’t afford to fix.

“Renovation projects are nothing like what you see on reality television, but by educating yourself on the process, there is no reason why anyone can’t complete a renovation that achieves their goals – as well as makes them happy most of all.”