State of the Economy – Time to Remodel Your Kitchen?

Lots of people wonder, “is it a good time to remodel my kitchen?” There are many things to consider when thinking about timing, but one of the strongest gauges to help you is the strength of the economy; particularly the existing home market.

Even if you aren’t planning on selling after you remodel, it’s good to know that your remodel is timed right with increases in demand and appreciation of home values.

Many market indicators show that now is a great time to take on that remodel project. Since the bust of 2006-2007 many have feared to take on a project that costs money because of uncertainty of the housing market. Well, things have changed a lot since then, and many are now allowing that pent-up demand to drive remodeling construction projects to long-lost highs.

Below are some of the key indicators that explain how things look today in the market:

• Existing home sales are up over 6% in March 2015 (National Association of Realtors)
• The pace of existing home sales is up 10.4% from the same time last year
• These year-over-year increases has continued for six straight months
• Pending Home Sales Index up 11.1% from March last year, and this number has increased for 7 straight months
• National Association of Home Builders Remodeling Market Index has been above the key confidence level for 2 years straight now (above 50)
• Recently published survey of professional remodelers indicates that Kitchen and Bath projects lead all other types of projects
• New home sales for 1^st quarter 2015 is at the highest level since 2008
• A survey of Homebuilders NAHB 2015 top challenges showed that one of the top concerns by builders is the “availability of labor”. This is an indication of current demand for projects

These are just some of the indicators that show that many things have changed. There are many areas of the country currently that are experiencing 2006-like phenomena like houses selling for more than asking price with multiple offers the day they go on the market.

All of this indicates that it’s a much safer time to take on the investment of a remodeling project. And it builds confidence in many that the uptick in the housing economy will continue to improve.

Before beginning your project, download our Free Kitchen Remodel Survival Kit so you can start off doing everything right.