Home Improvement Spending Rises 1.5 Pct In Q4

The home repair and remodeling market has been declining in the last year, but some recent indicators in the economy show that the industry could be heading for a rebound, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The decline started in the first quarter of 2019 and is expected to stop in Q3 of this year, according to researchers at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The prediction is that Q4 spending on repairs and renovations will go up 1.5 percent from the prior year.

The projected repair and renovation growth comes amid weak new home sales, which went down 1.7 percent in November, according to the National Association of Realtors. However, builders continue to construct single-family homes.

According to the Commerce Department, housing starts went up 13.6 percent in November over the prior year. The number of building permits also went up, by 11.1 percent.

There has also been talk of a potential end to the dip in manufacturing that has taken the industry to its slowest period since the Great Recession of June 2009, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), a trade group for corporate purchasing executives.

The ISM said that its index for manufacturing went down to 47 in the month of December, from 48.1 in November. However, members of the group remain optimistic due to heightened prices and other encouraging signs.

“We’ve probably seen the worst of it behind us,” said Tim Fiore, the chair of ISM’s manufacturing business survey committee.

The slowdown of economic growth has hurt manufacturers all around the globe, and has also caused a drop in demand in the U.S.

Also, affected by the trade war with China, the Trump administration’s tariffs have upped prices for raw materials. Trading partners with the U.S. have pushed back, which makes it tougher for American companies to sell products overseas.