Home Remodeling Forges Ahead Despite The Slow Economy

Good Morning,
   Thanks for being an integral part of another week here...we truly appreciate it.

   Today, we are glad to present an incredibly informative guest-post from BuildFax, the nation’s leading provider of building permit data, provided to us by Joe Emison from Buildfax. The remainder of this Blog Post comes from Buildfax:

   "One might think that this winter’s wild weather may have put the brakes on the remodeling industry, but as Americans look more and more to remodeling their house, rather than buy a new one, remodeling has continued to show some impressive gains.

   According to the BuildFax Remodeling Index (BFRI), the most detailed remodeling index available, January 2011 was the 15th straight month of year-over-year gains for remodeling activity, a very positive sign for the industry, especially as the economy is still in a very slow recovery.

   Looking at consumer behavior, it is apparent that Americans are investing in their homes again, even if they are not seeing gains in equity. The BFRI for January rose 22% year-over-year to 99.0, the highest January number in the history of the index, which starts in 2004. Residential remodels in January were down month-over-month 4.8 points (5%) from the December value of 103.8, and up year-over-year 17.6 points from the January 2010 value of 81.4.

   All regions posted year-over-year gains, although the Northeast continues to lag behind the other regions. For the first time in four years, the Northeast posted a year-over-year gain in January. The other regions all did significantly better than the Northeast, posting double-digit percentage gains over their respective January 2010 values. As is usual in January, index values were down month-over-month in every region: the Northeast was down 6.9 points (9%), the South was down 4.3 points (5%), the Midwest was down 9.6 points (10%), and the West was down 3.8 points (4%).

   As the spring arrives, we hope to see this positive year-over-year trend continue, as remodeling activity continues on the upswing and the industry trends upwards. To follow the trends, be sure to look at BuildFax.com each month for the latest BFRI numbers and analysis and you can also follow BuildFax on Facebook."

Joe Emison
BuildFax
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   Thanks to Joe and Buildfax for this valuable information !!!

Have a Great Weekend, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Website http://www.lease2buy.com