CAMBRIDGE, MA — Annual expenditures for improvements and repairs to owner-occupied homes are projected to decrease through the balance of 2024 and into the first quarter of 2025, although at a moderating rate, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), a quarterly series of forecasts released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
The latest LIRA, released in April, projects that annual owner spending for home renovations and maintenance will decline by more than 7% in the third quarter of this year before easing to -2.6% through the first quarter of 2025.
“Residential remodeling is expected to benefit from the rebounding housing market and stabilizing material costs as we move into next year,” said Carlos Martín, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center. “While home improvement and repair spending is down from pandemic-induced highs, the nation’s aging homes continue to need investment in critical replacements and home performance deficiencies, as well as modernization.”
At $451 billion, spending on homeowner improvements and repairs over the coming year is anticipated to be slightly lower than the $463 billion spent over the last year,” Harvard researchers said.