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Bucking the trends: Remodeling expected to suffer nationally, but local builders remain busy

By Walt Frank 3 min read

Home remodeling and repair projects may be on the decline, according to a study from Harvard University, but area builders said they remain busy.

The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity shows the short-term outlook of national home improvement and repair spending is expected to shrink during the upcoming year, before rebounding slightly toward the final quarter.

Released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, LIRA projects "remodeling will continue to suffer this year from a perfect storm of high prices, elevated interest rates, and weak home sales," said project director Carlos Martin. "These headwinds create considerable uncertainty in the economy, and remodeling spending is projected to fall from $481 billion last year to $450 billion in 2024."

But Mark Metz, president and owner of Metz Builders Inc., and Jim Brown, owner of J.R. Brown Construction Inc., both of Hollidaysburg, disagree with the study.

"We continue to be very busy, and have turned down numerous inquiries for both new homes and remodeling," Metz said.

While Metz Builders tends to do more new homes, the company continues to do some remodeling, he said.

"We have a major remodeling project to start this spring and another that we may be working with," Metz said. "Even with the higher interest rates, the demand has been unprecedented, and will probably continue, given the recent interest rate decreases."

This region tends not to see the highs and lows of construction work experienced in other areas, Brown said.

"Central Pennsylvania, and particularly Blair County, has always been a strong area for remodeling," he said. "With an older housing stock, homeowners are always looking to upgrade. Combine this with the lack of skilled contractors, not only in our area but nationwide, and there is an ample amount of work for those in our industry who provide their customers with quality work."

Brown said his business is steady.

"With the amount of work available in our area, we are able to choose the projects we would like to work on, projects where our level of craftsmanship is appreciated," he said.

Donald C. Delozier, owner of Donald C. Delozier Inc., Hollidaysburg, said he expects remodeling and construction to slow down because of the increasing prices of labor and materials.

Prices, he said, just keep increasing.

"I believe there is going to be a correction in the economy to slow things down," Delozier said.

Nicholas Martynuska, owner of Nicholas Builders, Altoona, agrees that a slowdown is looming.

"I feel as though the volume of calls have decreased over the last few months. I'm not sure if the rising interest rates also contribute to this decrease," Martynuska said. "As far as workload, we do have a full schedule, but we are not booking over a year-plus out like in previous years."

Despite an expected downturn, spending for improvements and repairs is expected to surpass levels seen early in the pandemic, said Abbe Will, associate project director of the Remodeling Futures Program. "Recent improvements in homebuilding and mortgage rates also support the prospect of turning a corner on the rate of remodeling spending losses by the end of the year."

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.

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