by Calculated Risk on 9/19/2011 08:31:00 AM

The BuildFax Residential Remodeling Index was at 130.4 in July, up from 129.5 in June. This is based on the number of properties pulling residential construction permits in a given month.

From BuildFax:

The Residential BuildFax Remodeling Index rose 24% year-over-year--and for the twenty-first straight month--in July to 130.4, the highest number in the index to date. Residential remodels in July were up month-over-month almost a single point (.6%) from the June value of 129.5, and up year-over-year 25.6 points (24.5%) from the July 2010 value of 104.7.
...
In July, the West (3.4 points; 3%) and Midwest (4.9 points; 5%) all had month-over-month gains, while the South (3.3 points; 3%) and Northeast (2.7 points; 3.4%) saw a decline.
...
"As millions of Americans believe that they will not be able to secure a new home due to a variety of factors including tight credit, limited buyers and challenging job prospects, they are more and more turning to renovating and remodeling their current properties, sending remodeling activity to record levels," said Joe Emison, Vice President of Research and Development at BuildFax.

Click on graph for larger image in graph gallery.

This is the highest level for the index (started in 2004) - even above the levels from 2004 through 2006 during the home equity ("home ATM") withdrawal boom.

Note: Permits are not adjusted by value, so this doesn't mean there is more money being spent, just more permit activity. Also some smaller remodeling projects are done without permits and the index will miss that activity.

Since there is a strong seasonal pattern for remodeling, the second graph shows the year-over-year change from the same month of the previous year.

The remodeling index is up 24.5% from July 2010.

Even though new home construction is still moving sideways, it appears that two other components of residential investment will increase in 2011: multi-family construction and home improvement.

Data Source: BuildFax, Courtesy of Index.BuildFax.com

Weekend:
• Summary for Week ending September 16th
• Schedule for Week of Sept 18th
• Links for Sovereign Debt Series