Tax credits and low interest offer the best breaks
Wendy Mclellan
Province
Graeme Huguet, of My House Design, discusses design details of new sunroom with homeowner Lorne Armstrong. Photograph by: Sam Leung, The Province
The recession may have made it a little easier to hire a handyman, but don’t expect your home-improvement project to cost much less.
“Renovations are really popular in this region — people want to stay where they are,” said Peter Simpson, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association.
“Some people may expect that the prices should be lower because of the bad economy, but the cost of products and services hasn’t really diminished significantly.”
Simpson said low interest rates and the federal government’s new home-renovation tax credit are providing extra incentives for people who are considering renos, and that’s keeping contractors busy.
“Contractors are still very busy and many of them are still booking jobs into next year,” he said.
“Renovators are not slowing down — we’re a year into this economic downturn and we still haven’t seen much change.”
One thing that has eased in the past year is the shortage of skilled tradespeople.
With so many job losses in the construction industry and the slowing of new-home building, renovators are able to find tradespeople more readily, which means jobs are getting finished faster, he said.
But some of those out-of-work construction workers may be setting up their own home-renovation business without the right kind of experience to get the job done, Simpson said.
“The caution here for homeowners is, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You may get a lowball quote, but you get what you pay for.”
Before getting excited about the prospect of a quick turnaround on their project, homeowners should check references and do some research into what your home reno requires, he said.
Graeme Huguet, owner of My House Design/Build Team Ltd., said there are some good deals for home-improvement projects.
For example, kitchen-cabinet manufacturers who have seen their orders slow with the cancellation of condo projects may add extra features and deliver the products earlier.
Similar deals are also out there for products such as plumbing fixtures and hardwood flooring.
As well, various incentives for energy-efficient upgrades are available for people who want a greener home, he said.
But the biggest saving for homeowners is time, Huguet said. With more tradespeople available, contractors can schedule the work more efficiently.
“When you can get the renovation done faster, it’s less costly. You have less time out of your kitchen, or out of your house.”
Surrey resident Lorne Armstrong thought renovators might be slower this year, but he quickly found they’re as busy as they have been for years.
“We thought it might be a good time because of the economy, but that wasn’t the case,” said Armstrong, whose home is getting a facelift with Huguet’s company.
“We didn’t make the decision to renovate expecting a lower price. We’ll get the tax credit, which is great, but we had the money to do the work and we were prepared to wait for a break in the contractor’s schedule.”
John Friswell, owner of North Vancouver‘s CCI Renovations, said some prices have come down for home-renovation work, but homeowners won’t notice much difference.
With more skilled tradespeople available, he said, the cost of some work, such as drywalling and painting, is down 10 to 15 per cent. But on a kitchen or bathroom renovation, the price difference would hardly be noticeable.
“There has been an expectation of lower prices by homeowners, but it hasn’t happened,” Friswell said. “The reno business has been really good through this whole mess.”
At BC Brick Supplies, Rick Miller said he is selling products for more small landscaping projects.
“Last year, it was hard to get people out to do a small paving-stone project, but it’s more competitive this year,” said Miller, who owns the landscape supply company with his two brothers.
Miller suspects the federal tax credit is encouraging people to continue with home-improvement projects.
“It’s a little easier to find people to do the work, but it’s not like they’re trying to buy a job.”
Kent Houston, owner of Houston Landscapes, said more companies are bidding on the larger commercial and condominium projects than in past years, which is making the business more competitive. Large projects are also reducing their landscaping budgets.
“A year ago, it would have been hard to find three companies to bid on a job and now there’s no problem finding 10,” Houston said.
“We haven’t see a real drop in price yet, but we may see it happen.”
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