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From Home Furnishing Business
LIRA Anticipates Robust Remodeling Growth
April 25,
2016 by in Economic News, Industry 
According to the newly re-benchmarked Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, strongly accelerating growth in home improvement and repair spending is expected heading into 2017.
LIRA projects that home remodeling spending will increase by 8.6 percent by the end of 2016 and then further accelerate to 9.7 percent by the first quarter of next year.
“Ongoing gains in home prices and sales are encouraging more homeowners to pursue larger-scale improvement projects this year compared to last with permitted projects climbing at a good pace,” said Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center. “On the strength of these gains, the level of annual spending for remodeling and repairs is expected to reach nearly $325 billion nationally by early next year.”
LIRA provides a short-term outlook of national home improvement and repair spending to owner-occupied homes. The indicator, measured as an annual rate-of-change of its components, is designed to project the annual rate of change in spending for the current quarter and subsequent four quarters, and is intended to help identify future turning points in the business cycle of the home improvement and repair industry.