Remodeling Spending to Rise in 2018

New projections show that homeowner remodeling spending will be roughly $340 billion in 2018, up 7.5 percent from estimated spending in 2017.

The latest Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies signal a robust year for spending on home improvements and repairs. The JCHS attributes this growth to the steady gains in the economy, home sales, and home prices. They anticipate that rebuilding efforts as a result of the historic natural disasters in 2017 will also boost the remodeling market.

Despite continuing challenges of low for-sale housing inventories and contractor labor availability, 2018 could post the strongest gains for home remodeling in more than a decade. Annual growth rates have not exceeded 6.8 percent since early 2007, before the Great Recession hit.

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