Once upon a time, it was the norm to buy a property – perhaps something that wasn’t your dream home – and then go through the process of renovating.

“That’s what we did at our house,” says Deborah Knight.

“We bought a dump, it had good bones we were told.”

Australians have always loved renovating, but recently there’s been a decline.

Housing Industry Association’s Geordan Murray tells Deborah the renovations market last peaked in 2011.

“Since then, it’s sort of been on a little bit of a [decline].

“It’s been a bit of a surprise given the popularity of home renovation shows.”

Mr Murray says there’s a range of factors that drive people’s motivation to undertake renovations.

He says “one of the biggest drags” is the pressure it puts on the “financial position of the household.”

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