Original Article Posted on Aug. 21, 2016 at wsj.com | Posted on Aug 22, 2016 at remodeling.hw.net
The housing boom may have passed, but the remodeling boom is just getting started if Harvard's JCHS and the John Burns Real Estate Consulting predictions are correct. Both groups are predicting remodeling spending will exceed $300 billion this year, ahead of the previous high of $285 billion in 2007. What's causing homeowners to stay put and make upgrades instead of just moving to a new home? Low home options and single-family construction still below where it was a decade ago, according to Chris Kirkham at the Wall Street Journal:
Remodeling and home building both declined significantly in the years following the bust, but the fall was much less steep for home renovation. Experts said the unusual nature of this housing recovery—with very low inventories of homes for sale, often leading to price appreciation and bidding wars—has prompted many homeowners to stay put and improve the home they already have.
Homes are also aging rapidly, according to numbers from John Burns, 65% of the available housing stock is at least 30 years old.
Spending on single-family home construction remains 40% below the levels of a decade ago, but new forecasts project that U.S. investment in residential remodeling and repairs this year will surpass records set during the housing boom.
Expense for repairs and remodeling is expected to surpass $300 billion this year, according to forecasts from John Burns Real Estate Consulting and the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, ahead of the previous high of about $285 billion in 2007.
Remodeling and home building both declined significantly in the years following the bust, but the fall was much less steep for home renovation. Experts said the unusual nature of this housing recovery—with very low inventories of homes for sale, often leading to price appreciation and bidding wars—has prompted many homeowners to stay put and improve the home they already have.
The news for remodelers just keeps getting better, so click on the link below to read the full article over at the Wall Street Journal.