Annual gains in homeowner improvement and maintenance spending are set to accelerate in the second half of the year and remain elevated through mid-year 2022, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies' Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA). 

The LIRA projects annual growth in home renovation and repair expenditures will reach 8.6% by the second quarter of next year, writes Abbe Will, a research associate and associate project director of the Remodeling Futures Program.

Home remodeling will likely grow at a faster pace given the ongoing strength of home sales, house price appreciation, and new residential construction activity, according to the LIRA. 

Larger gains in retail sales of building materials suggest the remodeling market continues to be lifted by DIY activity as well, Will writes. 

By the middle of next year, annual remodeling expenditures to owner-occupied homes are expected to surpass $380 billion, the data shows.

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