Two factors are really driving people to stay home these days.

The price of fuel is keeping them home. Also, the soft real estate market is prompting many people to keep their homes, too, at least until the economy improves.

People are doing things to make their homes more comfortable, said Kim Lehmann, executive officer with the Home Builders Association of Southwestern Oregon.

“There are not as many new homes being built,” Lehmann said. “But, there still is some activity with people investing in their current homes. There are many more remodeling and upgrading.”

At a Builders Association home show in April, Lehmann said many more homeowners came in ready to jump into projects. Vendors, who in past years didn’t make much money at first, were busy.

“This time there were many people ready to proceed, to find the right contractor and get work done, which is a real hopeful thing for the economy,” she said.

These weren’t the typical let’s-turn-this-house-around type of people who were trying to sell their homes, according to Lehmann. They were trying to fix up what they have for themselves — purchasing quality products rather than cheaper ones. Looking long term, rather than for a quick fix.

“There’s been a real focus when they’re upgrading on making them more energy-efficient because as long as you’re doing it, you might as well be able to help yourself financially in the long run, too,” Lehmann said. “I would say, while you’re in your home, make it how you want it. But know that at some point the economy will improve and do things to make your house more valuable if they decide to move.”

At one business that caters to do-it-yourselfers, Bay Shore Paints, sales associates can hardly keep up with the amount of customers coming in, according to owner Trae Johnson. The Coos Bay business owner said they’re seeing a different type of customer than last year.

“We’re not seeing the contractor business,” Johnson said. “We’re seeing a lot of people remodeling their homes and fixing them up.”

He, too, said his customers who are homeowners are usually dealing with some degree of financial stress.

“They can’t afford to go anywhere,” he said. “The market is so soft, it’s like, your home is your castle.”

Purkey’s Interiors’ clientele has always been predominantly homeowners.

“Most of our customers — nine times out of 10 — are fixing up what they have,” said owner, Myra Powers.

The Coos Bay full-service interior design business that helps shoppers through the process of measuring, purchasing and installation, has been seeing a 20- to 30-percent decline in its number of customers this year over last year.

“It’s way off from what it was last year,” Powers said. “Last year, everything was still booming, it was on the upswing. I’m still getting people in and getting phone calls, but not like last year when people were fixing up to sell.”

However, this year’s customers are less thrifty, because they’re buying new carpeting, window treatments and flooring that suit themselves, she said.

“They can’t afford to go out — can’t afford to go anywhere,” Powers said. “They want to make their living space more comfortable.

“A lot of times when people want to fix up to sell, they don’t want to put too much money into it,” she said. “When they do it for themselves, it’s not mainly about price, it’s about what they want.”

Residential market highlights for May 2008

Coos County

New listings — 150

Year-to-date new listings — 676

Pending sales — 57

Year-to-date pending sales — 231

Closed sales — 48

Year-to-date closed sales — 196

Average sale price — $200,600

Year-to-date average sales price — $185,600

Average market time — 149 days

Year-to-date average market time — 126 days

Curry County

New listings — 78

Year-to-date new listings — 379

Pending sales — 22

Year-to-date pending sales — 86

Closed sales — 21

Year-to-date closed sales — 84

Average sale price — $299,500

Year-to-date average sales price — $347,300

Average market time — 246 days

Year-to-date average market time — 197 days

Douglas County

New listings — 268

Year-to-date new listings — 1,223

Pending sales — 89

Year-to-date pending sales — 409

Closed sales — 81

Year-to-date closed sales — 350

Average sale price — $228,600

Year-to-date average sales price — $191,800

Average market time — 115 days

Year-to-date average market time — 123 days

Residential market highlights for May 2007

Coos County

New listings — 189

Year-to-date new listings — 801

Pending sales — 79

Year-to-date pending sales — 302

Closed sales — 56

Year-to-date closed sales — 261

Average sale price — $226,000

Year-to-date average sales price — $218,700

Average market time — 107 days

Year-to-date average market time — 113 days

Curry County

New listings — 98

Year-to-date new listings — 391

Pending sales — 28

Year-to-date pending sales — 123

Closed sales — 21

Year-to-date closed sales — 108

Average sale price — $329,700

Year-to-date average sales price — $325,100

Average market time — 127 days

Year-to-date average market time — 166 days

Douglas County

New listings — 276

Year-to-date new listings — 1,244

Pending sales — 137

Year-to-date pending sales — 550

Closed sales — 105

Year-to-date closed sales — 464

Average sale price — $213,500

Year-to-date average sales price — $214,600

Average market time — 112 days

Year-to-date average market time — 110 days

Source: Regional Multiple Listing Service