No change in outlook for remodeling

The housing market continues to take its toll on remodeling activity, causing consumers to hold back on home renovations, according to a just-released estimate by the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies. Spending on these home-improvement projects will drop 12% in 2009, according to the study.

Unlike earlier forecasts by the Harvard housing researchers, the study looked at high-end home improvement projects and excluded maintenance and repairs.

“Lower financing costs are beginning to stabilize the downturn in existing home sales, as they also are reducing the cost of financing a home improvement project” noted Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program of the Joint Center. “However, they have not been enough to offset rising unemployment and falling consumer confidence and encourage homeowners to undertake major home improvement projects.”

The April 16 forecast was virtually unchanged from the Joint Center’s 2009 prediction released on Jan. 22 at the International Builders Show in Las Vegas.