CAMBRIDGE, MA - Growth in home improvement spending is expected to lighten in 2015, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. 

“Due in part to weakening home sales last year, growth in remodeling spending is expected to deflate somewhat in 2015,” says Chris Herbert, Managing Director of the Joint Center. “Homeownership rates continue to slide as lending remains tight and first-time homebuyers are not yet returning to the market.” 

The LIRA forecasts annual growth in home improvement spending to slow from 6.3% in the first quarter of 2015 to 1.6% by the third quarter.

“Although contractor sentiment has cooled in recent quarters, it remains favorable overall,” says Abbe Will, a research analyst in the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center. “House price gains are moderating but still strong and home sales appear to be turning a corner now, all of which bodes well for continued, if more moderate, home improvement gains for 2015.”