Utah Tops for Home Improvement Loans, But Not Spending
Houses throughout Utah must be looking snazzy because owners there are taking out home improvement loans at a greater rate than any other state, according to data released by Construction Coverage.
Most Loans
Last year, 17 out of every 1,000 Utah homeowners took out a home improvement loan; Idaho is second, with 13 out of 1,000 homeowners securing loans, and Rhode Island is third, with nearly 12 out of 1,000 homeowners taking out such a loan.
Utah also scored big when the data focused on metro areas with the most home improvement loans. Salt Lake City was atop the list for large metros (those with populations of more than a million) with 15.3 out of every 1,000 homeowners securing a loan. Among mid-size metros (population of 350,000-999,999), Ogden, Utah, was tops, with 20.7 out of every 1,000 owners borrowing for home improvement projects. And Logan, Utah, ranked first among small metros (population of less than 350,000), with 17.5 out of every 1,000 owners there taking out a loan.
Most Money
However, when it came to the amount of the median home improvement loan, residents in Salt Lake City dropped in the rankings, spending around $75,000 compared to the large-metro-median of $81,200. Homeowners in the San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara metro area in Northern California borrowed the most: their median loan was $205,000. Their homes also had the highest median value of $1.58 million.
The highest median loan amount among mid-size metros was taken out by homeowners in Honolulu at $155,000 (the median home price is $807,792). And among small metros, owners in Kahului-Wailuku, Hawaii, borrowed the most for home improvement with a median loan value of $165,000 (the median home price is $1.07 million).
Fewest Loans
On the other side of the data range, homeowners in Louisiana secured the fewest home improvement loans, with just 2.1 out of every 1,000 owners borrowing money for this purpose. Mississippi and Texas ranked second and third, respectively.
Fewest Dollars
Many large metros shared the lowest median home improvement loan amount: $55,000. Among those on the list are Cleveland; Pittsburgh; and Rochester, N.Y. Among mid-size metros, owners in the Davenport, Iowa/Moline-Rock Island, Ill., area had the lowest median loan amount of $35,000. And among small metros, the lowest median loan amount was also $35,000, and among cities in this group are Elmira, N.Y.; Lima, Ohio; and Terre Haute, Ind.
