Millennials Completing DIY Home Improvement Projects (But They’ll Do It For the ‘Gram)

SoFi Releases Survey on Generational Differences to DIY for Home Improvement Season 2018

Millennials are more likely than Baby Boomers to land in the ER from a DIY home improvement project gone awry, and that overzealousness maybe because they are eager to show off their latest project on social media, according to a new survey by SoFi.

The survey reveals differences between Baby Boomers’ and Millennials’ approaches to DIY home improvement projects in time for home improvement season.

Despite the finding that Baby Boomers are 22% more likely than Millennials to reach the finish line on their DIY home improvement projects, Millennials are 65% more likely than Baby Boomers to finish those projects ahead of schedule. But, Millennials are 448% more likely than Boomers to hire a professional the next time they embark on a home improvement project.

And that may very well be due not just to the time and energy it takes to complete a project, but the physical toll it takes, too:

• Millennials are 23% more likely than Boomers to have landed in the ER due to a home improvement injury
• Millennials are nearly two times (46%) as likely to have required stitches from a home improvement injury compared with Boomers
• Millennials are more than twice (119%) as likely to have been injured by power tools

But even a visit to the ER won’t deter Millennials from showing off on social media. The survey found that Millennials are 443% more likely than Baby Boomers to make a purchase for their home based on something they saw on a friend’s social media profile.

And once they’re done with the job, Millennials are 145% more likely than Baby Boomers to post photos of the finished project on social media. They’re also not shy to admit why they’ve posted – they are 206% more likely than Baby Boomers to post photos of the finished product just to “show off.”

SoFi surveyed a national sample of 1,231 consumers ages 24-72 who had completed a DIY home improvement project in the past two years. More information about the survey is available here. You can learn more about SoFi’s Personal Loans for home improvement here and see SoFi’s Tiny Kitchen Makeover campaign here.