PALO ALTO, CA – Houzz, the world’s leading platform for home remodeling and design, has launched the Houzz Real Cost Finder, a new, interactive tool that empowers homeowners with real cost data to help them make informed decisions about their building, remodeling and design projects. Based on data collected from the Houzz community, the Real Cost Finder surfaces actual costs from more than 100,000 homeowners, providing accurate – and actionable – budget information.

Setting and sticking to a renovation budget continues to be a challenge for the majority of homeowners. A recent survey of the Houzz community conducted by Edge Research found that 41 percent of homeowners who remodeled their homes went over budget. Twenty-eight percent said funding their project or staying on budget was a challenge. Homeowners also struggle with educating themselves, finding the right products, and having a reference point for bids they receive from professionals.

With the Real Cost Finder, homeowners can research real costs for completed projects gathered from homeowners in their area ranging from high-end to modest, for virtually every space inside and outside their home, including kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, living/family rooms, dining rooms, patios and more. Together with Houzz’s green tag feature, which identifies actual products and costs in millions of images on Houzz, the tool helps homeowners determine how to allocate their budget by showing products, such as materials and finishes, at different price points.

“Since 2009, we have been making home remodeling more transparent, fun and productive for both homeowners and professionals,” said Adi Tatarko, Houzz CEO and co-founder. “The Houzz Real Cost Finder gives renovation and decorating data we’ve collected back to our community, empowering homeowners to make the best decisions for their projects.”

Other Houzz Real Cost Finder features:
The tool is fully integrated with the entire Houzz platform – and helps homeowners with everything from finding products to researching professionals who can take a project forward:

• Pulls from Houzz’s database of more than 1.7 million professionally-designed interiors and exteriors – the largest residential image database in the world – to surface the most popular designs in each area, as well as relevant guides and ideabooks to help homeowners through the entire renovation process.

• Shows relevant products at various price points, in different styles.

• Links to local professionals who homeowners can work with to secure legitimate estimates for their unique project – the only way to get an accurate bid.

Quick tips for staying on budget:

1. Set a maximum budget that allows for for a few places to splurge and a contingency – structural problems often crop up that may not have been anticipated, particularly with major construction projects. Using the Real Cost Finder will provide a helpful starting point.

2. Keep the same footprint, as building an addition or moving a room involves major construction as well as new electrical, plumbing and flooring.

3. Meet with professionals at your home to get a sense for who will be right for the project, who asks the right questions, and who is willing to provide a rough estimate. Ideally, be able to share some basic space, electrical, mechanical and lighting plans to help a contractor provide a more accurate budget estimate.

More than 14 million people – 90 percent of whom are homeowners – use Houzz every month to find inspiration, collaborate, research and hire professionals, source products, and manage projects from start to finish. More than 230,000 home professionals across nearly 60 categories, including architects, interior designers and general contractors, now rely on Houzz as a critical business tool to interact with clients, prospective clients, and other building, remodeling and design professionals locally and around the world. The Houzz Interior Design Ideas app for iOS has been downloaded more than 8 million times.

To learn more about the Houzz Real Cost Finder, go to www.houzz.com/remodeling-costs.

About Houzz
Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish - online or from a mobile device. From decorating a room to building a custom home, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community powered by social tools, Houzz is the easiest way for people to get the design inspiration, project advice, product information and professional reviews they need to help turn ideas into reality. For more information, visit www.houzz.com

 Source: Houzz.com