Metrostudy's latest Residential Remodeling Index (RRI) combines several economic indicators to point to increased prosperity, but what does that index foretell in terms of the number of big-ticket projects nationwide and their total value? This chart, revealed for the first time today, shows what's in store.
The data specialist predicts the total number of remodeling projects worth at least $1,000 will rise by 9.9% between 2016 and 2019 to reach 12.6 million jobs by the end of the decade. That's up from 11.5 million this year, which in itself is a 5.1% gain from 2015.
One way that Metrostudy forecasts the value of those projects is by taking predictions about the consumer price index and applying them to the number of jobs. By that metric, the value of big-ticket remodeling work will climb 12.7% between 2016 and 2019 to hit $193 billion.
Here's a spreadsheet with the numbers underlying the chart above:
| Projects (000s) | Value ($mlns) | |
| 2004 | 9,561,084 | $112,709 |
| 2005 | 10,570,683 | $128,805 |
| 2006 | 11,077,425 | $139,328 |
| 2007 | 11,179,327 | $144,646 |
| 2008 | 10,358,698 | $139,142 |
| 2009 | 9,410,976 | $126,008 |
| 2010 | 9,446,922 | $128,563 |
| 2011 | 9,123,751 | $128,065 |
| 2012 | 9,275,630 | $132,899 |
| 2013 | 10,062,764 | $146,247 |
| 2014 | 10,475,035 | $154,723 |
| 2015 | 10,894,345 | $161,120 |
| 2016 | 11,454,517 | $171,287 |
| 2017 | 11,935,833 | $180,011 |
| 2018 | 12,236,172 | $186,106 |
| 2019 | 12,589,872 | $193,096 |
On Aug. 16, we reported that the RRI rose in the second quarter to a record 104.2. That's 4.9% better than where RRI stood in the April-to-June 2016 period and 1.4% better than it was in 2016's first quarter. The national RRI has now risen year over year for 17 consecutive quarters, noted Metrostudy, the data analysis unit that's a sister company to REMODELING.
The RRI is formulated from several economic factors known to influence the undertaking of home improvement and replacement projects worth at least $1,000. Its baseline of 100 matches activity levels in the spring of 2007, which was the peak for remodeling activity a decade ago. The current score of 104.2 means we're 4.2% busier now than we were at that prior peak. Learn more at http://www.metrostudy.com/products-services/residential-remodeling-index/.
