Canadians Spent 20b on Renovations

Canadians Spent 20b on Renovations in 2007. That is almost an unbelievable number. This isn't home building - just fixing up things.

Canadians were in a home renovation mood in 2007, with a survey showing that an estimated 1.5 million households in 10 major cities across the country completed renovations last year that cost an average of more than $12,800.

"Close to $19.7 billion was spent on renovations in 2007 across the 10 major centres surveyed - an increase of more than $2 billion compared to 2006," said Bob Dugan, chief economist at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the agency that commissioned the survey.