Surprise, surprise: Just like virtually everything else in the U.S., the cost of homebuilding and renovations has climbed steadily alongside overall inflation, with tariffs serving as the cherry on top of mounting material and labour prices (1).
Even as the new housing market slows dramatically (2), certain building materials continue getting more expensive, from structural basics such as copper wire, steel, insulation and plumbing to finishing touches like lighting and paint (3).
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Americans are spending a growing proportion of their income on fixing up their properties and are projected to spend a combined $522 billion on renovations this year alone (4). And with consumers scouring for more ways to save in every facet of their lives, it’s no wonder that cost-cutting “hacks” are proliferating on social media.
It’s not just simple DIY tips that are making the rounds, either, but substantial measures that can allegedly save you hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Unparalleled price and increasingly simple solutions
Many of those building or remodeling their dream houses have learned to cut out the middleman and connect directly with international suppliers — especially those from China, where product costs often add up to a fraction of what they are at home.
Some of these customers are eager to share their personal experiences on TikTok, where videos guiding others through every step of the process have accrued hundreds of thousands of views.
A cursory search for “China home renovation” (or something similar) yields countless clips revealing attractively novel materials and methods (5), along with first-person accounts of saving money on built-in closets (6), windows, furniture, fixtures (7), kitchen cabinets (8) and more.
One user shares tips for those planning on visiting China to select their furnishings in person: which cities are best for which commodities, which apps to download for payment and communication, and which terms you need to know when working with shipping agents (9).
Another user simply explains how she “imported a whole house for the price of one American kitchen.” The posts have been viewed 538,000 and 1.1 million times, respectively, at the time of writing (10).
U.S. builders and firms are catching on and are opting to either make their own trips east (11) or offering to facilitate overseas purchases and logistics (12), while Chinese companies are catering their advertising to American audiences or opening showrooms on U.S. soil (13).
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There are even Chinese companies (also discoverable through TikTok) that specialize in on-the-ground sourcing and/or quality control. One company that Moneywise spoke with over WhatsApp charges $80-$150 USD per day to conduct factory visits, supplier meetings, price negotiations, translation and shipping coordination — the “full sourcing process, end-to-end.”
And there’s no denying that China’s sophisticated supply chains, technological efficiencies, cheap labour and sheer productive output make it hard for local American brands to compete when it comes to savings.
China is already America’s top supplier of construction imports and also provides a substantial share of our imported appliances — 90% of microwaves and nearly 100% of toasters (14). It offers cutting-edge innovations — non-slip tiles or exterior cladding embedded with solar panels, anyone? (15) — and one-stop renovation solutions (16) that, if they’re even available in the U.S., come at a premium.
The built-to-spec aspect is also appealing. As one building supplier with over 153,000 TikTok followers claims in a viral video catering to foreign shoppers (17), “we can customize a luxury home that will make your friends envy it at only a fraction of the cost.”
Is the ‘China renovation hack’ a good idea?
Beyond any potential ethical dilemmas (18), there are quality risks that can come with this method — buying is, of course, always a safer bet when you can see a product in person. Some end-users have cited challenges securing goods that actually adhere to local regulations (19), along with customs and shipping delays and inconsistencies between what was ordered and what was received, among other issues.
Freight costs can also be exorbitant. One Baltimore man told CNN that he paid approximately $13,000 per shipping container from China (20), though he estimates that he saved close to $100,000 total by purchasing nearly everything for his new home from abroad.
If you don’t conduct your own thorough research, the risks can certainly end up costing you. On the flip side, the return-on-investment for a strategic and well-done renovation, especially one completed at such low cost, can be immense.
For those set on keeping all steps of their project close to home, some breathing room may be on the horizon given February’s Supreme Court ruling that tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (which excludes levies on things like steel, mind you) were unlawful (21). However, industry experts say there’s still a great deal of uncertainty about how and when this will affect the price of renovations (22).
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Article Sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
ConstructConnect (1), (3); Forbes (2); The New York Times (4), (14); Facebook (5); TikTok (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (13), (17); YouTube (11); Licon Construction (12); Yicai Global (15); Golden Honour (16); Harvard Business Review (18); Reddit (19); CNN (20); U.S. Supreme Court (21); Realtor.com (22).
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: This ‘China renovation hack’ has homeowners saving tens of thousands of dollars on remodelling — but is it legit?
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
