China Home Expo noticed that, as urban renewal advances and national policies supporting the renovation of existing housing take effect, China's home renovation market has officially entered an era focused on existing properties. Supported by the "15th Five-Year Plan for Expanding Consumption," which explicitly encourages the renovation and localized upgrading of existing homes, the domestic market has surpassed 3.2 trillion RMB. The industry's new growth drivers have shifted from traditional whole-home renovations for new properties to old house refurbishments, localized renewals, and smart upgrades. This transformation is particularly evident in Chengdu. As the local real estate market completely transitions away from new development-led growth, demand for existing property renovations is surging. The industry's focus has shifted from aesthetic iterations for new homes to quality enhancements and functional optimizations for existing residences.

Data from the Chengdu Architectural Decoration Association reveals that existing property renovation now accounts for 65% of Chengdu's home renovation market, with the local market for old house renovations projected to reach 32 billion RMB in 2026. This boom is driven by a massive base of existing housing: Chengdu currently has approximately 5.8 million existing residential units, 35% of which are over 15 years old and are now entering their renovation cycle. Industry insiders note that future market growth will center on five key tracks: existing home refurbishments, smart home upgrades, aging-in-place modifications, eco-friendly renovations, and localized micro-renovations. Upgrading the living experience in existing homes has become the long-term mainline of industry development.

Performance data from local renovation companies directly reflects this market shift. A representative from Chengdu Yiniao Technology noted that the proportion of orders for old house renovations and localized modifications climbed from 35% in 2023 to 58% in the first half of 2026. The ratio of whole-home renovation clients to localized renovation clients reversed from 7:3 to 4:6, making precise, localized modifications the mainstream choice. Similarly, Chengdu Youjia Zhimei Home Furnishings reported a 15-percentage-point year-on-year increase in its existing property renovation business. Meanwhile, consumer demands have fundamentally shifted. Homeowners are no longer obsessed with altering floor plans or purely aesthetic upgrades. Instead, they prioritize renovation solutions that require no relocation, offer short construction cycles, and provide high cost-effectiveness. By focusing on solving practical residential pain points, renovation consumption has transitioned from an "aesthetic necessity" to a "quality necessity."

The comprehensive integration of smart home technology has become a core highlight of Chengdu's existing home renovations. In the past, smart home features were often treated as add-ons for new or fully decorated properties, implemented as scattered standalone devices. Today, existing home renovations are driving the industry to upgrade from "standalone smart devices" to "integrated smart systems." Unlike the pre-wired solutions used in new builds, owners of older homes prefer lightweight, wireless, no-wiring-required renovation models that can be upgraded in phases, accommodating the limitations of existing structures. Tailored to Chengdu's local climate and living habits, smart renovation demands focus heavily on practicality and safety. Due to aging infrastructure and weak security in older communities, the adoption of smart locks, gas leak detectors, and water leak sensors is steadily rising. Furthermore, leveraging the high humidity of the Sichuan Basin, smart dehumidification and fresh air systems are highly favored, while aging-in-place smart devices are gradually becoming standard in home renovations.

The market has developed a highly adaptable, low-barrier "Five Essential Smart Upgrades" system, encompassing smart locks, smart toilet seats, smart drying racks, smart curtain motors, and smart switch panels. Over 40% of old house renovation clients proactively add these devices, with post-80s and post-90s homeowners forming the core demographic. These single-point smart upgrades are cost-effective and highly practical, costing around 1,500 RMB per home and quickly boosting living satisfaction. Simultaneously, more homeowners are proactively reserving smart interfaces during renovations to allow for future whole-home system upgrades. Overall smart upgrade costs are clearly tiered for a 100-square-meter home: basic practical versions range from 3,500 to 15,000 RMB, mainstream advanced versions from 15,000 to 50,000 RMB, and high-end customized versions exceed 50,000 RMB. Consumers can tailor upgrades to their family structure and needs without overhauling the entire system at once.

Despite rapid market growth, Chengdu's existing home renovation sector still faces significant shortcomings, with a lack of industry standardization and low consumer trust acting as primary bottlenecks. Currently, most whole-home smart renovations are merely simple assemblies of standalone products; devices from different brands cannot interconnect, failing to form systematic smart services tailored to real-life scenarios. The 2026 White Paper on Premium Old House Renovations reveals that the industry widely suffers from mismatched solutions, budget overruns, construction delays, and inadequate after-sales service, resulting in generally low consumer trust. Users seeking localized renovations have distinct core demands: short construction cycles, clean workmanship, and high cost-effectiveness. Over 60% require completion within 15 days without needing to relocate, and their demands for eco-friendly construction, immediate move-in readiness, and precise budgeting are far higher than those of new-home renovators, placing greater demands on companies' delivery and refined service capabilities.

To resolve these industry pain points, local renovation companies are leveraging digital technologies and innovative service models to optimize the industry ecosystem. Addressing consumers' primary concerns over opaque pricing and vague construction standards, AI design and digital construction management are being progressively implemented to enhance the standardization and transparency of renovation work. To ensure financial security, some Chengdu renovation firms have partnered with the Tianfu Citizen Cloud platform to establish third-party fund supervision mechanisms. By disbursing project funds in phases and settling payments based on inspection results, these measures effectively mitigate the risks of embezzlement and capital loss, safeguarding consumer rights.

Industry analysts point out that against the backdrop of urban renewal, existing home renovations have evolved from sporadic, one-off consumption into a long-term livelihood sector that revitalizes urban assets and elevates living standards. In the future, the core competitiveness of the home renovation industry will no longer be low-cost customer acquisition, but rather standardized construction systems, transparent consumption models, and high-quality delivery services. China Home Expo believes that as the industry continues to bridge gaps in standards, service, and trust, the sector for upgrading existing living spaces will achieve sustained standardization and high-quality development, continuously unleashing new vitality in home consumption.

Source: Sichuan Obsersvation News