Spending on renovations may rise to a record amount this year, Investors Business Daily reports, as homeowners with low interest rates opt to stay put and invest in home improvement instead.
According to a report released Thursday by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, other factors leading to the boost in the $300 billion home improvement industry include stimulus programs that encourage energy efficiency upgrades and surging demand for rentals, spurring landlords to invest in their properties.
Owners who spend the most on remodeling tend to be those in hot housing markets such as Washington D.C., Boston, and New York. The report says that spending in Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia ranged from $4 billion to $7 billion.
Home-improvement chains Lowe’s and Home Depot have also benefitted from this remodeling boom, according to Investors Business Daily, as their shares soared 47 percent and 33 percent respectively in the past year.
Advertisement
Related Stories
Housing Markets
10 Biggest Publicly Traded Home Builders Undeterred by High Mortgage Rates
Together, the 10 biggest builders recorded 77,255 new homes in Q1 2024, an increase of more than 18% from Q1 2023
Economics
Mortgage Rate Declines Could Boost Home Sales Following Months of Low Activity
Encouraging economic news bumped mortgage applications up by 2.6% for the week ending May 3
Affordability
NAHB Announces Plan to Address the Housing Affordability Crisis
The National Association of Home Builders has outlined a 10-step plan that would increase the supply of single-family and multifamily for-sale and for-rent housing