A new consumer spending analysis from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) highlights why home building helps drive a healthy economy. In their first year of ownership, new home buyers spend about $10,601 on appliances, furnishings and home improvement projects–2.6 times as much as other home owners in a typical year.
NAHB economists studied the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey to help quantify the wave of activity spent to install new refrigerators, buy couches and make other improvements as new owners personalize their homes. During the first two years after closing on the house, a typical buyer of a newly built single-family home tends to spend on average $4,500 more than a similar non-moving home owner.