Harvard Sees Soft Remodeling Outlook

The Leading Indicator for Remodeling Activity published by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies expects slight declines in remodeling activities through the third quarter of 2008..
The LIRA projects a 1.6% dip in the first quarter of this year, a 0.9% downturn in the second, and a 2.6% decline in the third.
“An expanding economy has helped cushion the remodeling market,” says Kermit Baker, director of the Joint Center's Remodeling Futures Program. “Absent a more serious national downturn, remodeling activity is expected to see only modest declines in 2008.”