Remodeling contractor and consumer sales related to home improvement products are expected to get a much-needed bump for the next few years.
The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) released its September 2012 forecast for the size and trends in the home improvement market. HIRI forecasts a growth of 4.9 percent in 2012 and 4.0 percent in 2013, bringing the total market size to $284.8 billion in 2013.
According to HIRI, home improvement sales are expected to outpace GDP growth.
“Consumers are starting to get back closer to normal in their maintenance, repair, and improvement of their homes,” says Fred Miller, managing director of HIRI. Miller went on to add that some of the newest data on housing should help maintain the positive momentum the industry started experiencing last year.
The growth in purchases by contractors is expected to lag behind consumer purchases in 2012—3.9 percent vs. 5.3 percent.
However due to the improving housing turnover, the outlook for 2013 is the reverse with contractor sales expected to grow 4.4 percent vs. 3.9 percent for consumer sales.
Looking further out as employment growth accelerates and the housing markets improve, expectations are for stronger growth of home improvement sales averaging 5.9 percent in 2014-2015. Deceleration of home improvement product sales are expected in 2016-2017 as the housing market cycle runs its course. PR
