Trend showing homeowners are opting to invest in home improvement and renovation projects rather than build custom homes.

A survey of homeowners who used the RenovationExperts.com site between September 2004 and September 2005, shows an 8.5% drop in the number of homeowners looking for a residential general contractor to build a custom home. In September 2004, 15.49 percent of homeowners using Renovationexperts.com were looking for a residential general contractor to build a custom home. This year only 6.96 percent were looking for a custom home builder.

These results indicate that many homeowners have decided to stay in their homes and put their money into home repair improvements. Homeowners are looking at renovation and remodeling as a way of creating more versatility in their living space, investing in kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling, attic remodeling, basement remodeling and room additions.

The survey results from RenovationExperts.com are in keeping with national remodeling trends cited by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. According to the center’s most recent Remodeling Activity Indicator (RAI), homeowners continued to invest in their homes by spending almost $133 billion on home improvements and repairs over the past four quarters. Spending has increased 4.5 percent since the second quarter of 2004.

Although many homeowners have a vision of a dream home in their minds, when they begin to think about the upheaval a move entails — changing school districts, leaving neighbors and friends, leaving a place that holds happy family memories — remodeling becomes a much more attractive alternative.

It’s cheaper too. According to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI), the process of selling a home and moving can cost up to 10 percent of the value of their current home.

Remodeling allows customized improvements based on homeowners’ needs and lifestyle. There are many possibilities when remodeling, such as adding more space, turning an unused area —a basement or attic, for instance — into functional living space, upgrading cabinets and countertops, or improving energy efficiency with new windows, heating and ventilation systems.

Although kitchen and bathroom remodeling projects continue to be a key focus for homeowners, RenovationExperts.com’s survey indicates remodeling and room additions, as well as attic and basement projects have also increased. Attic and basement projects are a great way to make the home a better fit for its occupants and this category has increased by 1.63 percent from September 2004. Home gyms, home offices, extra bedrooms and entertainment centers are just some of the many ideas homeowners are coming up with for these spaces.

Exterior projects, such as new masonry and stucco, are also on the rise — from 2.32% in 2004 to 4.71% this year. Landscaping projects increased to 7.41% this year from 4.45% in 2004 — representing an almost 3% jump overall.

The biggest increase was seen in the fireplace category, with 3.96 percent of all homeowners at the RenovationExperts.com site looking for a new fireplace in September 2005, up from only .54 percent this time last year. Worries about home heating costs this winter are likely the fuel behind such a significant increase.

Renovation Experts® is a premium network of over 3,000 remodeling contractors, who carry out bathroom remodeling, kitchen remodeling, attic remodeling and basement remodeling projects. Renovation Experts ® contractors work with over 17,000 homeowners per month who have requested estimates on their home improvement projects.

RenovationExperts.com contractors perform more than $4.8 billion worth of work per year for American homeowners.