| There seems to be quite a trend for people doing | | | | of 75 among those in the survey. |
| home improvements themselves in the US. It seems | | | | They certainly weren't the only ones not likely to |
| that more people than not are taking on the industry | | | | participate in such projects. Additional big metropolitan |
| a bit, and doing the do it yourself projects on their | | | | cities where the residents apparently opted for hiring |
| own. | | | | professionals include Fresno, CA at 40%; Las Vegas |
| A major media service, Arbitron, has recently shown | | | | also at 40%; New York did a little better at 48%; |
| that according to a study by Scarborough Research, | | | | Chicago was at 46%; Miami inched in at 45%; Los |
| on average, forty-nine percent of adults in | | | | Angeles were even worse at 44%; Washington, D.C. |
| seventy-five cities nationwide made some sort of diy | | | | at 44%; San Francisco was at 43%; and San Diego |
| home improvement in the last twelve months. This | | | | where only 42% of it's residents performed any sort |
| reveals that consumers in smaller markets may be | | | | of diy project. |
| more expected to tackle their own home | | | | Here's what else the study came up with. There |
| improvements than those living in the larger cities. | | | | were certain types of improvements that were |
| Receiving the highest ranking at number one among | | | | popular than others. For instance, 25% or consumers |
| the cities surveyed was Harrisburg, Penn.; where | | | | had painted the interior of their homes and/or |
| over half (or fifty nine percent) of the people started | | | | wallpapered. The same amount had done landscaping. |
| a home improvement project in the last year. Coming | | | | Good news for burglars suggests that only 2% had |
| in at a close second was the city was Buffalo NY, | | | | home security systems installed in their homes. Bad |
| where again over half of the cities residents claimed | | | | news for the neighborhood kids who are crazy from |
| to doing their own home improvements. Another | | | | the heat, only 1% had added a spa or pool to their |
| close contender was the city of Toledo OH. | | | | home. |
| The other cities that found themselves in the top ten | | | | The fact is simply that people of all walks of life are |
| were Detroit and Flint, MI; Syracuse, N.Y.; Atlanta, | | | | doing their own home improvements and spending |
| GA; Indianapolis; Rochester, N.Y.; and Cincinnati, OH. | | | | the money that it takes to perform these tasks. This |
| These were the cities in which over half of the | | | | is good news for the centers that sell home |
| residents in each market had started or recently | | | | improvement material, as well as for the economy |
| made home improvements. | | | | which benefits from the extra flow of cash. Whether |
| Do you want to know who came in last? Well, the | | | | you do your own home improvements or not, |
| people of Honolulu were the least likely to take on a | | | | making your home a more comfortable and relaxing |
| do it yourself project, with just 37% fixing up their | | | | goes along way for a happy healthier life. |
| homes in the past year. This gave their city a ranking | | | | |