Everything seems to have a “new normal” these days, including renovation timelines and costs. The whole world has gone through an epoch change since March of 2020. If you haven’t considered a renovation since the pre-pandemic days you might want to buckle up!

Renovation Timelines: The Outlook for 2023

The truth is no one knows what the future holds, and anyone that says with certainty what the world will be like in a year is just making a guess. That being said, within our day-to-day lives, this is what we’re currently seeing:

The labor shortages we all came to know and loathe since 2020 are still in play to an extent. Working with established, local design team with long standing working relationships with GCs and their subcontractors gives you a significant advantage. Many delays are caused by simply not having access to the skilled laborers required to complete the work, but if you are referred to them by a local architecture firm you should get preferential treatment. 

Rising interest rates and inflation will likely have an impact on renovation timelines as much as they will costs. Some ‘experts’ are forecasting  for fewer home sales due to interest rates, which in turn would lead to a resurgence in renovations. Their theory is that if people don’t want to spend their money on interest for a new mortgage will instead shift their budgets to customize their current spaces. On top of that, the common belief is that overall fewer people will be taking out loans for renovations which will free up skilled labor to work on the fewer projects that are moving forward. This isn’t something we’ve seen (anecdotally) just yet. 

We are all still dealing with some supply chain delays, however they are easier to predict and to plan around than they were 18 months ago – we maniacally focus on procurement well before we would have pre-pandemic to allow for said delays. Overall, the current outlook is that timelines will continue to be longer than they were in 2019, but we are now better able to schedule around them efficiently. 

Costs: What to Expect

We’re seeing costs of building supplies stabilize to a great extent. Lumber has come down from “HOW MUCH?” levels, though we don’t expect to see pre-pandemic pricing any time soon, if ever. It’s starting to look like the post-Financial Crisis costs were unnaturally low and we’re back to pre-2007 era pricing for raw materials. The new normal in cost is a bit like the old normal, just with a higher starting point. That is to say that we don’t expect any major spike, but we do expect to see costs go up gradually as they were prior to 2020. 

Kitchen renovations continue to be the most expensive of interior renovations. Redoing a bathroom on the other hand is relatively budget friendly. The scope and specifics of your project, as always, will be the biggest factor in determining your budget. If you’ve been playing a waiting game for costs to drop you likely don’t want to wait much longer before running the risk of watching those numbers start to go up again.

We’re here and ready to discuss your renovation visions. Give us a call!