"Low interest rates, rising home values, and strong home sales are definitely contributing to the remodeling fervor among home owners," said NAHB Remodelors' Council Chairman Mike Weiss, CGR. "In addition, the rebounding economy and rising consumer confidence are fueling substantial optimism among remodelers."

Both RMI indexes remained virtually unchanged in this year's third quarter after registering substantial gains in the previous three months. The index gauging current market conditions slipped one-tenth of one point to 53.5, while the index gauging future expectations rose by the same margin to 54.9. However, year-over-year comparisons - which are more appropriate because the RMI is not seasonally adjusted - reveal substantial gains of 3.7 points for current market conditions and 6.7 points for future expectations.

"The year-over-year gains in both indexes hold true for every region across the board, indicating the very broad-based strength of this market," said David Seiders, NAHB's chief economist. "What's more, substantial year-over-year gains are apparent for every single component of the future expectations index - including calls for bids and amount of work committed for the next three months for both owner- and renter-occupied dwellings, plus overall job backlogs and appointments for proposals."

Publication date: 12/15/2003