Remodeling spending slowing but growing

​​CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Annual growth in national home improvement and repair spending is expected to slow considerably by the end of the year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) at Harvard University.

The LIRA projects that gains in renovation and repair spending to owner-occupied homes will shrink from 7.5 percent in 2018 to 5.1 percent in 2019.

“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," said JCHS Managing Director Chris Herbert. "Continued slowdowns in homebuilding, sales of building materials, and remodeling permits all point to a more challenging environment for home remodeling in 2019.”

Despite these challenges, improvement and repair spending will still expand to over $350 billion this year. This slowdown is more in line with the historical average annual gain.