New Remodeling Index Tracks Residential Remodeling by Metro Area

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- BuildZoom, the intelligent marketplace for remodeling and construction services, recently launched its new remodeling index with a finding that permitted remodeling activity in Seattle and New York has surpassed pre-crisis highs, while in Miami and Atlanta it remains well below the pre-crisis peak.

Drawing upon the company's database of approximately 45 million building permits from sources across the United States, the BuildZoom Remodeling Index tracks changes in permitted residential remodeling and maintenance activity in several major metropolitan markets on a monthly basis. Access the data HERE.

"We believe that the BuildZoom Remodeling Index, in tracking remodeling and maintenance of the existing housing stock, will provide a valuable new source of information to improve understanding of the housing market, a critical component of the economy," said Issi Romem, Chief Economist for BuildZoom. "There are US cities in which it is particularly difficult to expand the housing stock with new construction. In such cities, much of the action is in the upgrading and re-purposing of existing real estate. At BuildZoom, we hope to shed light on this aspect of the housing market, which has largely remained hidden until now."

As reported in the table below and shown in the graphs, the remodeling index shows that from the precrisis peak to the post-crisis trough, residential remodeling activity in New York and Seattle fell by approximately 25%. Remodeling activity in other parts of the country was hit much harder by the housing market crisis than in New York. In Miami and Atlanta, for example, residential remodeling activity plunged by 60% and 85%, respectively. Although both cities have seen a rise since then, neither has reverted to pre-crisis levels. As of September, residential remodeling activity in both Miami and Atlanta is still 55% below its pre-crisis peak.

"The housing markets in Miami and Atlanta were more buoyant than most before the crisis," said Romem. "Although the current rate of remodeling in Miami and Atlanta may be too low to maintain the housing stock in good repair over an extended period," he added, "we should not necessarily expect - or even want - remodeling activity to revert to its highest levels pre-crisis."

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New Remodeling Index Tracks Residential Remodeling by Metro Area