Harrisburg, Penn. was the number one city in the survey. Over 59% of the city's residents started a home improvement project. Toledo and Buffalo, NY tied for second place with 56% of the residents in these towns starting DIY project in the past year.



Detroit, Flint, MI., Atlanta, Syracuse, NY., Rochester, NY, Indianapolis and Cincinnati, OH rounded out the top ten. More than half of the residents in these towns started renovations on their houses in the past year.

The place where residents were most reluctant to begin do it yourself projects was Honolulu. In the past year only 37% of residents felt inclined to altered their homes. Other towns where homeowners were reluctant to brave the waters of home self renovations included: Fresno, California 40%, Las Vegas 40%, New York 48%, Chicago 46%, Miami 45%, Los Angeles 44%, Washington DC 44%, San Francisco 43% and San Diego 42%.

Alisa Joseph, the vice president of Scarborough Research, said that the survey provides opportunities for home service advertisers. Joseph said that home service advertisers can use the information from the survey to get in touch with consumers that want to improve their homes. Scarborough is a great source for advertisers to use when defining potential markets for home improvements, according to Joseph.

The survey also discovered the specific types of home renovations that were most popular. It seems that simple improvements like changing color schemes and sprucing up the lawn were frequently performed by homeowners. Interior painting, wallpapering and landscaping were performed by 25% of consumers. Security system installation was done by just 2% of those surveyed and pool or spa installation by 1%.

Smaller home improvements were very popular but consumers are starting to be more willing to spend large amounts on home improvements. In 1999 30% of home improvements cost over $3,000. That number has climbed to 36%. Showing that over time consumers seem to be getting more and more comfortable with making changes to their homes.

The survey also turned up some other interesting finds about the groups of people that tend to make changes to their homes. Those between the ages of 35 and 54 make up 46% of home improvers. About 63% are married and more than half live in a home with a 50,000 or more income. Internet users are more inclined to invest in home improvements. People who tune in to the 70's Oldies, Classic Hits, New Country and All Sports radio are 14% more likely to do home improvements.