One in Four U.S. Homeowners Consider Spending Their Tax Rebate Checks
on Home Improvement Projects
Most Common Projects Being Considered Include Landscaping, Adding
Insulation and Painting a Room
DENVER (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) April 29, 2008 --
Resilient American homeowners intend to shake off concerns about the
slumping real estate market and plant the money they receive as part of
the federal economic stimulus package into what for many is their most
important financial asset: their homes.
A national consumer opinion survey released today found that 24 percent
of U.S. homeowners are “considering using”
the money they will receive as part of the federal economic stimulus
package to upgrade or improve their homes. In addition, roughly one in
five respondents, or 19 percent, said they would “definitely
use” their rebate money for a home improvement
project. The survey was conducted in April by Johns
Manville (JM), a building and specialty products manufacturer, and Opinion
Research Corp., a market research firm.
“The federal government is hoping that
Americans will spend these checks and help stimulate the nation’s
economy, and this survey confirms that many Americans are prepared to do
that, at least when it comes to their homes,”
said Wayne Russum, senior vice president of Opinion Research Corp.
Among respondents who said they are not considering using their rebate
check for a home improvement, the most common intended uses were saving
it (45 percent), paying down debt (40 percent), taking a vacation (14
percent), purchasing a luxury item (9 percent), or something else (5
percent).
The tax
rebates were created earlier this year by a Congressional bill aimed
at encouraging consumer spending in the face of a slumping economy and a
weak housing market. The checks started arriving in taxpayers’
bank accounts on Monday. Single taxpayers with annual adjusted gross
income of less than $75,000 qualify, as do joint filers making less than
$150,000.
The telephone survey of 751 American homeowners was conducted from April
11–14 by Opinion Research Corp., a national
market research firm based in New Jersey, on behalf of Johns
Manville, an international building materials manufacturer based in
Denver. The survey’s sampling error was plus
or minus four percentage points.
The survey found that the most popular projects for respondents
considering using their rebate checks for a home improvement project
included: household upgrades, including landscaping (23 percent) or an
upgrade of the bathroom (13 percent) or kitchen (12 percent); improving
their homes’ energy efficiency, including
adding attic insulation (9 percent), caulking or sealing (4 percent), or
installing energy efficient light bulbs (4 percent); or painting a room
(10 percent).
The survey’s other key findings included:
-
Homeowners between the ages of 25 and 34 were most likely to consider
using the rebate checks for a home improvement (33 percent);
homeowners older than 65 were least likely (20 percent).
-
Homeowners in the West were most likely to use their rebate check for
a home improvement (27 percent); homeowners in the South were least
likely (22 percent).
-
The most common reasons cited for pursuing a home improvement project
with the rebate money were comfort (34 percent), aesthetics (17
percent), environmental impact (15 percent), resale (13 percent), and
return on investment (8 percent).
-
Among all respondents, 31 percent of homeowners said they are planning
to start a home improvement project during May, which is National
Home Improvement Month.
“Clearly, many homeowners agree that
investing in their homes can improve their quality of life and provide a
solid return on investment,” said Mark
Ziegert, JM’s senior brand manager for
building insulation products. “People who use
their rebate check to improve their home’s
energy efficiency not only enhance the comfort of their home, they will
achieve cost saving in both the winter and summer through improved
energy efficiency, and they may increase the resale value of the home.”
About Johns Manville
Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway company (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B), is a
leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building and
specialty products. In business since 1858, the Denver-based company has
annual sales in excess of $2 billion and holds leadership positions in
all of the key markets that it serves. Johns Manville employs
approximately 7,800 people and operates 41 manufacturing facilities in
North America, Europe and China.
About the Survey
The 2008 Rebate Check Spending survey was conducted by Opinion Research
Corporation for building products manufacturer Johns Manville. The
survey was conducted via telephone April 11–14,
2008, and contacted a total of 751 U.S. adults 18 years of age and older
who are homeowners in the continental United States. Results were
weighted by age, gender, race and region to ensure a representative
sample. Using Opinion Research’s CARAVAN
methodology, the data was collected from a national probability
telephone sample, a form of random-digit-dialing (RDD). Respondents were
asked seven questions regarding their thoughts and planned uses of the
federal economic stimulus rebate checks. The margin of error for results
based on the total survey is plus or minus four percentage points.
MULTIMEDIA GALLERY http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=5671483
Post Comment:
Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/SW5zZS1Ib3JyLU1hZ24tU3VtbS1GYWx1LVplcm8=
Trackbacks/Comments Received
Post Comment:
Trackback URL: http://www.prweb.com/pingpr.php/SW5zZS1Ib3JyLU1hZ24tU3VtbS1GYWx1LVplcm8=
Bookmark -
Del.icio.us |
Digg |
Furl It |
Spurl |
RawSugar |
Simpy |
Shadows |
Blink It |
My Web
|
Share The News
Submit this press release easily to any of these major bookmarking and social media sites.