CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Expenditures for improvements and repairs to the owner-occupied housing stock are expected to grow throughout 2022 and into early next year, but at a decelerating pace, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
The LIRA projects year-over-year increases in residential renovation and maintenance spending will peak at 19.7 percent in the third quarter of this year before sliding downward to 15.1 percent in the first quarter of 2023.
“Massive increases in house price appreciation and the resulting levels of tappable home equity will continue to support remodeling activity this year and into next,” said Carlos Martín, project director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Center. “Many other market indicators including existing home sales, renovation permitting, and retail sales of building materials also continue to grow at high, albeit slowing, rates.”
Abbe Will, associate project director of the Remodeling Futures Program said, “The level of annual expenditures for home improvements and repairs is set to expand to nearly $450 billion by the first quarter of 2023. Yet, the rising costs of project financing, construction materials, and labor, as well as growing concerns about a broader economic slowdown or recession may further slow remodeling growth.”
The LIRA provides a short-term outlook of national home improvement and repair spending on owner-occupied homes. The indicator, measured as an annual rate-of-change of its components, is designed to project the annual rate of change in spending for the current quarter and subsequent four quarters and is intended to help identify future turning points in the business cycle of the home improvement and repair industry.
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Larry Adams is a Chicago-based writer and editor who writes about how things get done. A former wire service and community newspaper reporter, Larry is an award-winning writer with more than three decades of experience. In addition to writing about woodworking, he has covered science, metrology, metalworking, industrial design, quality control, imaging, Swiss and micromanufacturing . He was previously a Tabbie Award winner for his coverage of nano-based coatings technology for the automotive industry. Larry volunteers for the historic preservation group, the Kalo Foundation/Ianelli Studios, and the science-based group, Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST).
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