Index shows remodeling market holding steady

The National Association of Home Builders has unveiled its Remodeling Market Index, a new economic measure of activity in the nation's $150-billion remodeling market.

According to an NAHB news release, the RMI in its first outing rated the remodeling market as holding steady, but starting to show signs of slowing due to a sagging economy and a shrinking job market.

The RMI for current market conditions for the first two quarters of this year remained steady with a 55 rating. Future expectations for remodeling as rated by remodelers also remained virtually flat at 57 during the same time period.

Between the first and second quarter of this year, the ratings for current market conditions declined in three of the Census regions of the country, except for the Midwest, where the rating increased from 53.3 to 55.6.

The largest drop occurred in the Northeast, where the rating fell from 63.2 to 58.1.

Ratings for future remodeling market expectations declined during the first half of the year by more than four points in the Northeast, from 66.4 to 62.0, and by nearly five points in the West, from 59.2 to 54.4. Ratings increased in the Midwest from 54.2 to 58.1 and in the South from 55.4 to 56.7 during this same period.