The State of the Homeowner: Cost, Trust and Confidence

New GoodLeap research shows the biggest reason home improvement projects stall isn't finding a contractor, it's cost uncertainty. 57% of homeowners with a delayed project say it's on hold because it costs more than they can spend right now. 

Owning a home means constant decisions about maintenance, repair and improvement, whether planned months ahead or triggered by a sudden breakdown. This survey of 1,603 homeowners shows how cost, trust and financing shape those decisions, and where the uncertainty is felt the most.

Cost is the biggest barrier to moving forward

For homeowners with a project on hold, one issue stands well above the rest: cost.

57% say their project is delayed because it costs more than they can spend right now.

The uncertainty doesn't disappear once work begins. Among homeowners who completed a project in the past year:

• 27% say their project cost more than expected.

• 22% say paying for it strained their finances.

When asked what kind of support would help most beyond financing, 35% chose help understanding what a project should cost as the single most requested form of support.

Together, these findings point to a challenge bigger than affordability alone: homeowners need more visibility into what an improvement will likely cost before they commit to it.

When a project is a repair, the stakes are higher

Not every home project starts with a wish list. About half of homeowners who completed a project in the past year were fixing something that had broken, not upgrading by choice, and their experience looked markedly different from those making an elective improvement.

Homeowners making repairs were far more likely to have worked on essential home systems:

• HVAC: 35.5% of repairers vs. 16% of upgraders

• Roofing: 22.2% vs. 7.7%

They also felt substantially more financial pressure:

• 36% of repairers said their project cost more than expected, compared with 19% of upgraders.

• 33% said the project strained their finances, compared with 13% of upgraders.

That distinction matters. A homeowner planning an elective upgrade has time to research options, compare contractors and budget for the expense. Someone whose HVAC fails in the middle of summer doesn't. For homeowners facing a necessary repair, clarity and confidence matter most at exactly the moment they have the least time to find them.

Homeowners are looking for trust, not just a contractor

Cost isn't the only source of uncertainty. Homeowners still lean on relationships when deciding whom to hire: 22% found their contractor through family or friends, and another 22% went back to someone they'd used before.

When asked what support would help most beyond financing, 25% chose help finding a trusted contractor, second only to understanding project costs.

The link between trust and confidence is striking. Among homeowners who said finding a contractor they trusted was difficult, only 52.2% described themselves as very or extremely confident in their home-project decisions. Among those who didn't struggle to find someone they trusted, 73.3% reported that same confidence for a 21-point gap.

Online search doesn't close that gap, either. Homeowners who found a contractor through online search were the most likely to report difficulty finding someone they trusted, and the most likely to want help finding a contractor next time.

Still, trust rarely stops a project outright. Among homeowners with a delayed project, just 5.7% cited difficulty finding a trusted contractor as the reason, compared with 56.9% who cited cost. Cost determines whether many projects move forward at all. Trust determines how confidently homeowners navigate them once they do.

How are homeowners planning to pay for home improvement projects?

The research also points to a gap between what homeowners need and how they plan to cover it. Among homeowners with a project on hold: 

• 47% aren't sure how they'd pay for their next one, yet only 18% are currently considering a financing option, such as a personal loan, HELOC or contractor-offered financing.

• When asked what would get a delayed project moving, financing that fits their budget ranked first. 

But "affordable" doesn't mean the same thing to every homeowner. 

• Overall, the lowest interest rate is the top priority, driven largely by homeowners with higher credit scores. 

• Among homeowners with lower credit scores, though, the gap between interest rate and monthly payment narrows considerably. For them, managing what leaves their budget each month can matter almost as much as the rate itself.

Energy savings extend beyond solar

Homeowners are also thinking more about how improvements affect their home's ongoing cost and performance. GoodLeap's research found homeowners reporting energy savings across multiple project categories, a sign that energy performance isn't just a solar story.

Interest in additional energy insights is highest among homeowners who already have solar or HVAC. In other words, finishing an energy-related project doesn't end a homeowner's interest in understanding their home's energy use, it often deepens it. That's an opportunity to help homeowners see how each improvement connects to the performance and cost of the home as a whole.

A clearer path through home improvement

Taken together, the findings show a homeowner journey shaped by four questions:

• What should I do?

• What should it cost?

• Who can I trust?

• How should I pay for it?

Today, homeowners answer those questions separately, moving between online research, contractor estimates, recommendations and financing options on their own. That's hardest on homeowners facing an unexpected repair, when the financial stakes are higher and there's less time to figure it out.

The opportunity for the home improvement industry goes beyond helping homeowners complete a transaction, it's helping them make more informed decisions throughout the life of their home. For GoodLeap, that means building beyond financing alone: connecting homeowners with the cost clarity, trusted professionals and energy insights that make home improvement easier to navigate.

Because greater confidence in homeownership starts with a clearer path forward.

See how GoodLeap helps homeowners plan, pay for and complete home projects →

About the research

The GoodLeap State of the Homeowner survey was fielded August 12–31, 2026, among existing GoodLeap customers. The clean analysis included 1,603 respondents: 916 homeowners who completed a project within the previous 12 months, 372 with a project currently on hold and 265 with no current or deferred project.