THURSDAY January 24, 2013 NEWS & COMMENTARY SALES & MARKETING LAW & ETHICS TECHNOLOGY HOME & DESIGN FOR BROKERS Home > News & Commentary > Daily News | -AA+A Home Owners Get Back to Remodeling Residences DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2013 As the housing market rebounds, more home owners are remodeling their homes again, according to industry reports. Remodeling has been far from its peak in recent years as home owners delay projects due to the sluggish economy. In 2007, the remodeling industry peaked at more than $325 billion, but revenues in this sector fell 16 percent in 2011. So why the sudden upturn in remodeling? The increase in remodeling activity is coinciding with a rise in home prices. “Just as falling prices discouraged home owners from repairing or expanding a house, rising prices have given them confidence to undertake a delayed project,” NBC News reports. More home owners are also looking to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, partially spurred by government incentives to do so and partly because they're seeking ways to offset rising energy costs. Also, older home owners reportedly are retrofitting their houses to prepare for retirement. Additionally, younger households are now taking on delayed projects to accommodate growing families. Furthermore, the high number of foreclosed homes in need of TLC is also causing remodeling activity to pick up, according to a report by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. “All those homes that have gone through foreclosure or short sales are now coming back on the market,” says Kermit Baker, a senior fellow at the center. “In a lot of cases these properties have been abandoned for the last few years. So you’ve got some properties in pretty tough shape.” As the economy continues to improve, remodeling is expected to increase, says Tom O’Grady, president of O’Grady Builders in Drexel Hill, Pa.
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