Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Homeowners are expected to spend nearly $340 billion on residential repairs and renovations in 2018, according to recent data from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
The organization released the latest Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), which shows home remodeling spending in 2018 will grow 7.5 percent compared to 2017 levels.
“Steady gains in the broader economy, and in home sales and prices, are supporting growing demand for home improvements,” Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies, says. “We expect the remodeling market will also get a boost this year from ongoing restoration efforts in many areas of the country impacted by last year’s record-setting natural disasters.”
Despite ongoing contractor labor shortages and the low stock of homes for sale, Abbe Will, research associate in the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center, says 2018 might be the biggest year 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,” Will says.
According to the Joint Center for Housing Studies, LIRA “provides a short-term outlook of national home improvement and repair spending to owner-occupied homes.” The organization uses LIRA data to identify upcoming home improvement and repair industry trends.
The next LIRA data will be released in April.
