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PRESS RELEASE CONTACT: Elizabeth England: (617) 495-7640 April
19, 2006
*For previous RAI press releases, please visit the list of press releases in our Media section* Homeowner
Spending on Remodeling Falls Back to Longer-Term Trends
Remodeling Activity Indicator for First Quarter 2006 Released CAMBRIDGE, MA – Estimated recent growth of homeowner remodeling spending has eased substantially but still remains near its long term rate of 5%. According to the Remodeling Activity Indicator (RAI) devised by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, homeowners spent over an estimated 155 billion dollars on home improvements and repairs over the past four quarters, representing a 4.5% increase over this period. The Director of the Joint Center, Nicolas P. Retsinas, noted, “Rising interest rates and a cooling housing market have started to impact spending on home improvements. Delays in initiating major improvement projects are likely to moderate spending over the next year.” Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program of the Joint Center, commenting on this year’s trends, “Remodeling contractors recently have reported a slight decline in hours worked by their employees, and more modest growth in their payrolls. This points to remodeling following home building into a period of slower growth in the months ahead.”
The RAI is released quarterly (April, July, October and January) by the Joint Center’s Remodeling Futures Program during the third week after each quarter’s closing—generally about two quarters before the U.S. Commerce Department’s data on residential improvements and repairs is available—in order to provide industry with an accurate and timely reading of national remodeling activity levels. The next release date is July 20, 2006. The Joint Center’s Policy Advisory Board and other industry sponsors support the Remodeling Futures Program. The development of the RAI is detailed in a working paper entitled W04-4: An Improved Method for Estimating Homeowner Improvement and Repair Activity Through the Remodeling Activity Indicator. Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies is the nation’s leading center for information and research on housing in the United States. Established in 1959, the Joint Center is a collaborative unit affiliated with the Graduate School of Design and the Kennedy School of Government. The Director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies since 1998 is Nicolas P. Retsinas. For more information, the website is www.jchs.havard.edu. -END- For
more information about the Joint Center and its programs, |
