CAMBRIDGE, MA – The slow pace of recovery in the housing construction market is a drag on growth in remodeling, too, according to figures from the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) from the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The LIRA projects annual growth in home improvement spending to ease to 3.1% through the second quarter of 2015.

“Stronger gains in remodeling activity are unlikely given the recent slowdowns we’ve seen in housing starts, sales, and house price gains,” says Chris Herbert, Acting Managing Director of the Joint Center. The continued recovery in employment should ultimately keep the market on an upward trajectory, says Herbert, with remodeling likely to see slower growth rates moving into 2015.

“Growth in home remodeling activity continues to hover around its longer-term average of mid-single digit gains,” says Abbe Will, a research analyst in the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center. “Even though the housing market overall has been lackluster, many areas of the country remain economically healthy and remodeling contractor sentiment remains high.”