Outlook brightens for remodeling

The residential remodeling market showed signs of improvement during the first quarter of 2009, with significant growth in all indicators, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Market Index (RMI).

The RMI, which measures remodelers’ perception of market demand for current residential projects, rose to 34.5 from 25.5 in the fourth quarter of 2008. For future projects, the index jumped from 18.6 in the previous quarter -- a historic low -- to 30 in the first quarter of 2009.

"Remodelers are starting to receive more calls for bids and request for proposals, although getting customers in to sign for a job continues to remain a challenge," said NAHB Remodelers chairman Greg Miedema, a remodeler from Tucson, Ariz.

The national index for major additions and alterations increased from 19.4 to 32.7 in the first quarter, while minor additions improved to 39.1 from 31.5. Maintenance and repair also climbed from 23.6 to 30.4.

Calls for bids rose to 34.2 from 20.6, with the backlog of remodeling jobs growing to 28.5 from 18.4. The component that measures the amount of work committed for the next three months rose to 21.8 from 16.4.