Remodeling Spending Gains Falling Back to Average

By the end of 2019, remodeling spending in the U.S. is expected to slow down to a 5.1 percent annual growth rate, down 2.4 percent from 2018's rate.

The data come from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University's (JCHS) latest release of Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA). Chris Herbert, JCHS managing director, said in a statement, “Slowing house price appreciation, flat home sales activity, and rising mortgage interest rates are deflating owners’ interest in making major investments in home improvements this year,” adding, “Continued slowdowns in home building, sales of building materials, and remodeling permits all point to a more challenging environment for home remodeling in 2019.”

“Despite the growing headwinds, improvement and repair spending is still set to expand this year to over $350 billion,” says Abbe Will, Associate Project Director in the Remodeling Futures Program at JCHS. “But after several years of stronger-than-average increases, the pace of growth in remodeling activity is expected to fall back to the market’s historical average annual gain of 5.2 percent.”

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