Home Remodels Can Put Couples to the Test
A new survey finds home renovations often spark disagreements. Real estate pros can help couples navigate decisions and reduce tension.
CHICAGO — As home remodeling soars in popularity, more couples are finding themselves battling it out over paint colors and floor finishes. The number of choices in a home remodel can strain relationships, according to the newly released 2025 U.S. Houzz Remodeling & Relationship Survey. But it’s not always just the stress of choosing finishes – sometimes the bigger debate is whether to renovate at all or sell instead.
Regardless, the stress can prove so great that 12% of couples in relationships of five years or less said they even considered separating or divorcing during a home renovation, the Houzz survey finds.
“A home renovation is clearly one of the most demanding journeys a couple embarks on together, with numerous decisions, budget considerations and trade-offs along the way,” says Marine Sargsyan, Houzz staff economist. “The findings highlight how communication, compromise and visualization technologies help mitigate disagreements and support productive collaboration throughout the renovation process among couples and the pros they hire.”
How real estate agents can be an ally
Given the friction, real estate agents may step in as mediators, guiding clients toward smoother remodeling decisions. Real estate agents are finding that as home remodeling surges, they can be a hero in recommending reputable contractors, designers and remodelers as well as resources to help ease the process.
Agents can share data for comparable homes in the neighborhood to help homeowners gauge what features competing homes offer. They can also provide industry insights on which renovation trends deliver the highest ROI so clients can make more informed choices. Resources like the National Association of Realtors®’ 2025 Remodeling Impact Report reveal which home remodeling projects tend to pay back the most at resale. (Read more: Why remodeling homeowners need a real estate agent’s guidance)
Top couple complaints when remodeling
The top sources of conflict during renovations, according to the Houzz study, are:
- Difficulty staying on budget (31%)
- Disagreements over products, materials and finishes (28%)
- Agreeing on the project’s scope or design (20%)
Also, about a third of couples said selections for paint colors, furniture and flooring materials were common sticking points during a remodel, according to the survey.
Couples at different stages of relationships tend to fight over different things during a remodel, the Houzz study finds. For example, younger couples – those together less than 10 years – tend to spat over furniture choices while couples of 21 to 30 years tended to have a high rate of flooring disagreements, and couples of 30 years or more most often disagreed over paint colors and flooring.
To get through these challenges, couples admitted to compromising as well as increasingly relying on tools to help them better visualize the finished result. Younger couples tended to be the most likely to compromise while longer-term couples were twice as likely to have one partner accept defeat and defer to the other, the Houzz survey finds.
Couples said the remodeling process would be easier if design and construction professionals were more transparent with pricing, communicated clearly and offered more accurate timelines, the survey finds.
That said, by the end of the remodeling project, most couples said they were satisfied, reporting their newly renovated home left them more comfortable, happier and less stressed. They just need to make it to the finish line.
© 2025 National Association of Realtors® (NAR)