Home remodeling to slow, says Harvard study

Remodeling activity is expected to move at a sluggish pace this year due to the stalled housing market and economic recovery, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The center’s Remodeling Future’s Program predicted annual growth slowing throughout the year with spending up only 0.2% in 2011.

“Recent softness in the housing market and continued pessimism among remodeling contractors point to a slowdown in the remodeling market toward the end of the year,” said Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center.

The Remodeling Futures Program, initiated by the Joint Center for Housing Studies in 1995, is a comprehensive study of the factors influencing the growth and changing characteristics of housing renovation and repair activity in the United States. The program seeks to produce a better understanding of the home improvement industry and its relationship to the broader residential construction industry.