Report: U.S. housing stock ready for improvement

After languishing for several years, the U.S. remodeling industry appears to be pulling out of its downturn and a renewal of the nation’s housing stock is under way, according to a report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Foreclosed properties are being rehabilitated, sustainable home improvements are gaining popularity, older homeowners are retrofitting their homes to accommodate their evolving needs, and the future market potential is immense, as the emerging echo boom generation is projected to be the largest in our nation’s history, according to the report.

“As baby boomers move into retirement, they are increasing demand for aging-in-place retrofits,” Remodeling Futures Program director Kermit Baker said in a statement. “A decade ago, homeowners over 55 accounted for less than one-third of all home improvement spending. By 2011, this share had already grown to over 45 percent. And generations behind the baby boomers will help fuel future spending growth since echo boomers are projected to outnumber baby boomers by more than 12 million as they begin to enter their peak remodeling years over the next decade.”