May 8, 2012 – Just as buyers and sellers have had to adjust their thinking in today’s real estate market, homeowners who have opted to stay in place and put a new face on their house, via remodel or renovation, are also changing the way they approach that task.

With selling and moving less of an option, and many owners realizing that for the time being their home is a place to live as opposed to an ATM machine, the way consumers are approaching upgrades to their homes is fundamentally changing. For starters, some of the grand remodels are becoming less extreme and more practical and functional, reflecting the way people actually live. Now the accent is on value. One of the primary factors is the loss of homeowner equity, and the home equity loans that fueled many remodels are harder to get compared with half a decade ago. Today owners must pony up cash from savings or other sources rather than just borrowing against the house.