The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) predicts that remodeling and repair spending will decelerate to a rate of 0.5% by the first quarter of 2027, totaling a projected $523 billion, according to the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Remodeling and repair spending in the first quarter of 2026 rose 2.0% from Q1 2025 to $521 billion.
The LIRA, published quarterly, provides a short-term outlook on U.S. home improvement and repair spending for owner-occupied homes. The report is designed to project an annual rate of change in expenditures for the current and subsequent four quarters. See Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies