Pace of Home Remodeling Surges in First Quarter

The steady growth of residential remodeling continued during the first quarter of 1989 with a seasonally adjusted annual expenditure rate of $98.5 billion.

Kenneth Klein, chairman of the NAHB Remodelors Council of the National Assn. of Home Builders, said the figures mark a 3.1% improvement over the previous quarter and a 5.8% jump over the first quarter of 1988.

Most of the increase in activity, he said, came in the area of repairs and maintenance, which rose 6.3% from the previous quarter.

“Additions and alterations also reflected a large increase in comparison to the first quarter of 1988. This tells us that people are continuing to expand and update their homes of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s to bring them in line with today’s living standards,” Klein said.

NAHB predicts that spending on remodeling will increase 5% to 7% in 1989, he added.

The figures obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Census sources are preliminary and will be revised in September, the council spokesman said. The census recently revised its figure for total expenditures in 1988 from $101.3 billion to $101.1 billion.

This total is the highest ever recorded for the residential remodeling industry and it marks the first time that expenditures have surpassed $100 billion.