Recovery in Houston revealed an unually sharp spike in home maintenance and remodeling activities, according a housing health report published by BuildFax, a company serving the insurance industry with building, remodeling, and repair data.
According to a release from the company, the pace of remodeling is increasing at progressively smaller margins. Data from the firm finds that remodeling spending leveled out for the third consecutive month after several years of steep increases. BuildFax COO Jonathan Kanarek said that a dip in maintenance and remodeling activity is typical following many natural disasters. However the recovery in Houston from Hurricane Harvey shows a different pattern: A spike in maintenance activity due to Harris County officials acting quickly to flagged damaged properties. While this activity is not traditional remodeling it does suggest a way to spur recovery that other communities can learn from.
The BuildFax report also found the annual rate of remodel volume had increased 2.39% in September. Additionally, remodeling spending increased at a year-over-year rate of 15.96%.
The study was conducted by examining properties in the U.S. over the past five years. Data was seasonally adjusted and imputed to reflect numbers representative of the entire country.