For the second quarter of 2017, the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, reports healthy and stable growth in home improvement and repair spending. Although annual increases are expected to soften slightly, activity is projected to remain at or above 6% through the second quarter of 2018.
Designed to provide a short-term outlook on the spending habits of homeowners in owner-occupied homes, the report measures the current annual rate of change and projects future changes in spending for the next four quarters.
“The remodeling market continues to benefit from a stronger housing market and, in particular, solid gains in house prices, which are encouraging owners to make larger investments in their homes,” Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies, says in a press release. “Yet, weak gains in home sales activity, due to tight inventories in many parts of the country, is constraining opportunities for more robust remodeling growth given that significant investments often occur around the time of a sale.”
The previous LIRA, released in April 2017, predicted spending would reach $306 billion in 2017’s second quarter with a 7.1% rate of change. The recently released report details the spending almost reached $305 billion and the percent of change remained the exact same as Q1 2017 with 6.9%.
As the industry moves into the second half of the year, home improvement and repair spending has the potential to increase to $310 billion in the third quarter and $315 billion in the fourth quarter. The next quarterly report will be released in mid-October.
