Home Improvement Improvement
Boo, hoo. New housing starts are down. The world is doomed.
When I mention that I write about home improvement, people often say, "Oh, things must not be going so well for you in the economy."
I scratch my head and think, "Hmm, that's the first I've heard about that." But I usually say something like, "Things aren't like the boom times of five years ago--which means it's back to business as usual."
In good times or bad, homeowners still need to: replace windows, refinish or install flooring, improve their kitchens, and so on. The decay of our living structures does not halt (nor our desire to improve upon them) with changes in the economic climate.
What is different is our attitudes toward home remodeling. During the high times, the installation of granite countertops in every house, new or remodeled, became almost a knee-jerk reflex by homeowners, designers, and builders. Every house had to have slab granite, even if it wasn't appropriate to the overall style of the house.
Now, instead of everyone flocking to the one, obvious high-ticket item, you see other paths opening up. In times of crisis, people get creative.
And why should new housing starts occupy such an important place in our discussion about our economy? I have long wondered why ripping down an existing house to build an entirely new one, or building a new house on formerly vacant land, should declare to the world: Yup, economy's doing just fine!
From the green perspective: what about the twelve Dumpsters worth of broken-up house you just landfilled? From the perspective of jobs and labor, don't you also employ many people by remodeling a house? Is it the materials industries (plywood, lumber, drywall, etc.) we really care about when we talk about new housing starts? After all, while they benefit from remodeling, they benefit much more from new construction.
Even though it's not well-advertised (i.e., it's not a national institution like the new housing starts index), the National Association of Home Builders does track home remodeling, too. According to their Remodeling Market Index (RMI), the ultimate nadir within the last five years for home remodeling in the U.S. occurred last year (October 2008), with the peak happening sometime toward the end of 2003.
Sound about right to you? Does to me. Good news is that the RMI is nudging upward.
Comments
Hi Lee:
Excellent post and reporting! Your point about houses continuing to decay and fall apart — even normal wear and tear — is so true…it doesn’t go away in any type of economy. But responding to it by buying the most expensive materials that “everyone else has” is a mindset that people are getting away from, or if they haven’t, they need to. Repairs should and can still be made. We just need to be more resourceful in how we go about it, perhaps through a combination of research and materials used for repair or refurbishing. We just DIYed glass mosaic tile in our pool (sides and steps) and on our bathroom counter and backsplash at the fraction of the cost of other materials. The tile is beautiful, unique, and
(I got cut off here; too long-winded!)…and I’m glad we did it! I encourage others to look for alternative materials on About.com’s pages and others for ideas and guidance!
Good article.
Running a home improvement business in England I agree totally with your observations.
We have noticed our customers are now improving (i.e. new kitchens, bathrooms, loft conversions or extensions) their properties as oppposed to moving.