| With some $150-$200 billion being spent annually on remodeling, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Vice President and Treasurer Kent Conine told an audience at the NAHB Remodelers Show in Atlantic City, N.J., recently that the remodeling industry is contributing a full 2 percent to the Gross Domestic Product.
Just like new home building, the industry has been a bright spot in an otherwise dismal economy and has helped forestall a recession over the past year. While activity is expected to soften some during the current business quarter, conditions still remain favorable for remodeling and activity is expected by NAHB economists to resume at full force early this year.
Conine also said low interest rates and double-digit price appreciation in the housing stock have created favorable conditions for the industry.
He noted that there has been a trend over the last decade toward specialty contractors who can provide customers the expertise and quality they want on small, specialized jobs. General contractors over recent years have also been relying increasingly on subcontractors and less on employees of their own, he noted. |
