A recent report by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies shows US home remodelling punches above its weight in the ratio of it’s contribution to US total GDP, compared to new home building.
Over 50% of US housing is now over 40 years old and the average price tag is getting a lot bigger, at: US$17,322 in 2017.
United States Remodelling Activity: 1Q 2020
Remodelling spending in the United States generated 2.2% of national economic activity in 2017, Harvard researchers said. And the overall market has grown more than 50% since the 2008 recession ended, including making a +6.5% annual jump from 2016 to 2017.
Benchmark Softwood Lumber Prices Apr 2020 & US TOTAL Housing Starts 1Q 2020
Pre-pandemic, the LIRA pointed to a healthy rebound in home remodeling spending with annual growth of +3.9% by 1Q 2021, but the latest data incorporating both actual and forecasted impacts of the economic shutdown point to spending declines this year with further worsening into 2021.
United States Home Remodelling Expenditures to 2017
Quarterly spending for improvements and repairs to the owner-occupied housing stock is projected to turn negative by 3Q 2020, and annual expenditures are expected to fall to US$322 billion by early next year with potential for even more severe declines to follow.
Benchmark Softwood Lumber Prices Apr 2020 & US 1-UNIT Housing Starts 1Q 2020
