Hawai'i households trimmed back on home improvements last year after record spending in 2004, according to a new survey.

SMS Research estimated that residents statewide spent $135 million last year on upgrades such as replacing old carpet, installing air conditioners and landscaping, down 9 percent from $149 million a year earlier. Average spending per household last year was $674, down 6 percent from $720 a year earlier.

The decline is partly attributed to rising interest rates that have slowed mortgage refinancing, a big source of paying for home-improvement projects.

According to SMS, 49 percent of households made home improvements last year, compared with 50 percent a year earlier.

Bill Stoner, a rental manager with local real estate firm Malia Ltd., said he might expect home improvements to decline further this year as people buy fewer homes in the softening real estate market.

But last week, Stoner was picking up a $300 set of drapes at Home Depot to install in a new Hawai'i Kai townhouse for an owner planning to rent out the unit.

"Window coverings were not included," he said.

Mo'ili'ili resident Sumner La Croix said he expects to spend more this year improving a condominium he bought early last year.

"It's a nice place ... some of it was highly upgraded and some of it was not," he said. "They had the original 1975 air-conditioning."

La Croix, a University of Hawai'i economist, said he probably spent $10,000 last year on improvements, including new flooring and paint. This year, however, he plans to remodel two bathrooms and do other work for an estimated $60,000 to $70,000.

The SMS survey included big and small home-improvement projects — from building a deck to installing a ceiling fan.

The most popular upgrades were air-conditioning and landscaping, followed by bathroom and kitchen improvements.

SMS said Maui and Kaua'i residents were more likely to undertake home-improvement projects, and that higher-income households spend more on such work.

The research firm based its report on 2,500 interviews with a random sample of adult residents, some of whom kept diaries of home-improvement activity. SMS said its survey sample was statistically balanced to reflect the state's resident population as defined by the 2000 Census.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.