As Australia’s leading online destination for furniture, homewares, and home improvement, Temple & Webster is deeply invested in understanding how Australians live, adapt, and transform their homes. With housing affordability constraints and rising interest rates shifting household decisions, millions of Australians are opting to upgrade their existing homes rather than enter an expensive property market. This research unpacks Australia’s record-breaking $16.6 billion renovation boom and explores what is driving households to invest so heavily in where they already live. As part of our commitment to helping Australians make all their spaces more beautiful, one room at a time, expanding our home improvement offering allows us to directly support renovators at every step—whether making minor functional refreshes or undertaking full-scale room transformations. 
 

Australians spent a record $16.62 billion renovating existing homes in the year to June 2026, the highest annual total in 51 years of ABS records.

 

• Real renovation activity, adjusted for building cost inflation, reached $15.72 billion, a 51-year high and up 23.0 per cent since 2020
• The record came two years after HomeBuilder stimulus grants ended, sitting 3 per cent above the previous peak of $15.24 billion reached in June 2022
• June quarter 2026 alone hit $4.15 billion, the highest single quarter since records began in 1974, up 13.0 per cent year-on-year
• Average renovation spending per home reached $1,446 for the full year, the highest 12-month average on record
• Queensland led growth at 37.7 per cent since 2019, while NSW grew 24.8 per cent over the same period
• ACT was the only jurisdiction with declining renovation activity, down 34.4 per cent since 2019
• Cash rate climbed back to 4.35 per cent following three rises in 2026, increasing mortgage costs for households

   
 

What it means

The sustained renovation boom reflects a structural shift in how Australians are responding to housing affordability constraints and cost of living pressure. Rather than purchasing homes with desired upgrades already built in, households are increasingly investing in existing properties as a more financially viable option than larger mortgage commitments. This pattern has now persisted well beyond the temporary stimulus period that triggered the initial spike, signalling genuine demand that outweighs rising construction and financing costs. The divergence between states, particularly Queensland's strong performance against the ACT's contraction, points to regional variations in property ownership patterns and migration dynamics driving renovation investment decisions.

A record $16.6 billion spend signals that the renovation boom is no longer a temporary reaction to stimulus, but a permanent structural shift in how Australians navigate homeownership. By choosing to invest in existing footprints over taking on larger mortgages, households are rethinking what it means to create their dream home. As the needs of Australian renovators evolve, Temple & Webster remains dedicated to supporting every step of the journey. With our continuously growing range of home improvement, fixture, and design solutions, we make it easier, more accessible, and more inspiring to turn any property into a functional, joyful, and beautiful space to call home.