An uptick seen early in 2011 in consumer spending on home improvements and remodeling has tailed off and analysts at Harvard University on Thursday said they expect spending to remain “volatile and weak” over the next several quarters.
According to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity, which was released by the university’s Joint Center for Housing Studies that estimates national homeowner spending on improvements, annual remodeling spending through the first quarter of 2012 will be down 4 percent.
“The recent slowdown in the economy has caused home improvement spending to weaken again,” Eric Belsky, managing director of the joint center, said in a statement. “Falling consumer confidence levels have undermined interest in discretionary projects.”
