New Study: Home Improvement Spending to Decline Next Year

A new study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University projects that spending on home improvement and repairs by homeowners will decline at an accelerating rate through the first half of 2024.

While homeowners continue to spend on repairing and improving where they live this year, a new study from a prestigious research study at Harvard University says that will reverse next year, declining 2.7% in the first quarter and even more in the following three months.

The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) just released by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University forecasts that annual spending will decline by 2.7% in the first quarter of 2024 and 5.9% through the second quarter of the year.

“Home remodeling activity continues to face strong headwinds from high-interest rates, softening house price appreciation, and sluggish home sales,” said Abbe Will, associate project director. “Annual spending on homeowner improvements and repairs is expected to decrease from $486 billion through the second quarter of this year to $457 billion over the coming four quarters.”

Carlos Martin, project director for the center said less moving activity will play a role in this reduced spending but that “the magnitude of the impact may be offset if owners who are locked into their current homes with ultra-low mortgage rates continue to renovate to meet changing needs or take advantage of new federal incentives for energy-efficiency retrofits.”

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