COVID-19: Post-lockdown home renovation boom welcomed by tradies

The end of the COVID-19 lockdown has brought about an unexpected boom in home renovations.

With little international travel and people spending more time than ever at home, it seems our thoughts have turned to home improvement.

Auckland builder Ron Cullen is busier than ever after jobs started flowing in during lockdown, when he had to put them on hold.

Now, the Eye Catching Building director's workload is up 50 percent on last year.

"[We're doing] a lot of bathroom renovations, home extensions, new decks for people," he says.

"[People] just want to make more living areas in the house, change the rumpus room into a bedroom and things like that."

Online trades website Builderscrack.co.nz has also seen an unprecedented increase in bookings for home renovations and repairs.

"Up about 11 or 12 percent in May, and then in June we were up almost 30 percent in jobs posted on our platform and the start of July we've seen an almost 35 percent increase in work," the website's managing director Jeremy Wyn-Harris says.

They've also noticed an increase in demand for jobs that add value to people's biggest asset - especially expensive roof repairs.

"The new roofs we feel is an indication of people investing in their homes - so it's not all just immediate repair work, it's actually building the value," Wyn-Harris says.

And it's not hard to see why home improvement has proven so popular.

"They've been stuck at home for months in cases or weeks and they have been staring at that wall and it definitely needs a lick of paint," Wyn-Harris says.

"I think people just realise they can't go overseas, they've got spare money and want to renovate their houses to get them up to date," Cullen adds.

The unexpected side effect of lockdown is being welcomed by tradies.