The pandemic has pushed Americans to spend more time at home than ever, a circumstance that’s led homeowners to spark a renovation boom to make their homes more functional and cozy. To help homeowners through that process, real estate tech firm HouseCanary has integrated HomeAdvisor’s marketplace into their ComeHome product for a streamlined, end-to-end home renovation process.
Jeremy Sicklick
“Our partnership with HomeAdvisor is the perfect solution to complete ComeHome’s comprehensive functionality and usability for homeowners,” HouseCanary CEO Jeremy Sicklick said in a written statement on Tuesday. “By partnering with HomeAdvisor and top lenders, our clients can now utilize a unique end-to-end home improvement tool that allows homeowners to price home renovations, understand the ROI of home improvement projects, find contractors to do the job, and seek funding for projects all in one place.”
“By teaming up with HomeAdvisor, we have taken another step toward making ComeHome the premier customer engagement platform for homeowners by helping them realize greater value in their most important asset,” Sicklick added.
To get started, homeowners must go to ComeHome’s homeowner landing page and enter their home address. After that, homeowners are led to a dashboard that provides an estimated home valuation and tabs that provide information on their home’s estimated equity, estimated savings through refinancing, and the HomeAdvisor-connected home improvement calculator.
The calculator asks homeowners to rate their home’s structural condition from six options that include “as good as new” to “uninhabitable,” all of which boost or decrease the estimated value. From there, the calculator offers three home improvement projects based on the age of the home, along with an estimated cost and ROI provided by HomeAdvisor.
If a homeowner wants to proceed, HouseCanary’s ComeHome assistant will identify several HomeAdvisor licensed professionals who can complete the project and connect homeowners with one of HouseCanary’s bank and non-bank lenders for financing options.
Craig Smith
“This partnership could not have come at a better time,” HomeAdvisor President and COO Craig Smith said in a press release. “With individuals spending more time at home since the onset of the pandemic, people are taking on a lot of projects in and around the home and looking for qualified pros to complete these programs.”
“Together, HomeAdvisor and HouseCanary are helping homeowners truly understand the value of home renovations, adding a new layer of transparency unparalleled in other home improvement tools,” Smith added.
In a phone call with Inman, HouseCanary CEO Jeremy Sicklick echoed Smith’s comments about the partnership, saying homeowners are in desperate need of quick, reliable, data-driven information about home improvement projects, especially as they prepare to hunker down once again.
“What I think the data has shown us as a result of the pandemic, we’re seeing more than a 40 percent increase in kitchen and bath growth,” Sicklick told Inman. “We’re seeing major expansions and home extensions.”
“Through some recent survey findings that the folks at HomeAdvisor did, they’re finding that 80 percent of homeowners are planning on taking on one or more projects,” he continued. “This is really highlighting that as people spend more and more time at home, and the home is not only the place that they live but also for many people, it’s the place they work and where they school their children, etc.”
“We’re just seeing this massive growth in home improvement, both for people who currently live in their home, but also with this historic growth of new home purchasing as well, at extremely low-interest rates, it’s creating great opportunities for people to become homeowners and then do the improvements to make that house a home.”
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story mentioned Lend Co. as a HouseCanary lending partner. However, it was a mock company to explain the end-to-end renovation experience for consumers. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
