More than 60 percent of homeowners consider their home healthy. This is despite most being unaware of the most critical indoor and outdoor health hazards, according to a 2014 survey from Houzz. Houzz, an online community and resource for all facets of home design and remodeling, surveyed 808 homeowners in the 2014 year. The Healthy Home Trends Study asked homeowners about perceptions of home health and factors of a healthy home that are most critical to them. One in five homeowner respondents rated their home as unhealthy and 6 percent were unsure.
Additional key findings include generational trends, which show millennials are less critical of the health of their home with 71 percent rating their home as healthy, 12 percent more than baby boomers and 13 percent more than gen x’ers. When describing the health of their homes, most homeowners pinpoint chemical exposure, the presence of insects or pests, and natural light as important. Of those surveyed a total of 70 percent of homeowners listed comfort as a factor very important to supporting their own health, shown as the top metric below.
Other important ways in which homeowners determine the health of their living spaces include security, exposure to germs, and wholesome food. Less important to respondents are beauty and design, pets, and electronics exposures. Results show 40 percent of remodeling projects by respondents name health as motivation for home renovation. With more homeowner education and accessible resources detailing the importance of healthy home and the lesser-known impacts to air quality and health, homeowners might remodel with health in mind far more often.
Read the full report from Houzz here.
