While the housing industry has experienced a slowdown in 2019, remodeling activity has remained strong in the past year. Though estimates suggest remodeling spending may slow in the near future, several major metro areas posted gains in remodeling spending, HousingWire reports. Remodeling activity increased in Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and Washington, D.C., in May, according to housing data and analytics company BuildFax.
Philadelphia and Chicago saw the greatest gains year over year in remodeling activity, rising 15.2% and 5.06% respectively. Remodeling also grew a modest 1.57% in Los Angeles, 0.39% in Miami and 0.25% in Washington, D.C., according to BuildFax.
According to the report, Philadelphia stands out for resisting the national trend, posting gains and beating records for the number of houses sold from October to December 2018 when the rest of the country saw its housing activity decline. BuildFax said this could be attributed to increased domestic migration to the city or housing investments.
In Chicago and Los Angeles, where new construction activity has declined in the last year, we are likely seeing gains in remodeling because buyers are hesitant to enter the market and would rather reinvest in their current properties, BuildFax said.
BuildFax did find that remodeling activity declined year over year in May in Boston, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, and Houston. New York City saw remodeling activity decline 5.17% year over year, while activity declined 3.54% in Atlanta. Remodeling also declined by 2.86% in Dallas, 2.18% in Houston, and 1.10% in Boston, according to BuildFax.
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