Spending on home improvement is expected to increase by double-digits in the first quarter of next year, according to a report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.
Spending is expected at an annualized rate of $128.8 billion in the first quarter of 2011, up from 12.4 percent from $114.6 billion in the first quarter of this year.
The figures released today by the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies indicate homeowner optimism is bolstering a trend toward investing in the home again.
"Absent a reversal of recent economic progress, there should be a healthy upturn in home improvement activity by year-end and into next year," said Eric S. Belsky, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies.
"The recovery in home improvement activity appears to be moving beyond simple replacement projects and energy retrofits to broader remodels and upgrades," said Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies. "A wider activity base would help generate the expected growth in the quarters ahead."
