There were predictions as recently as last autumn that the slowdown in home buying and home building would benefit the remodeling industry.
So far, that hasn’t happened. The latest word is that it probably won’t.
“The slumping economy and struggling housing sector continues to drag down spending on home improvements,” said Nicolas P. Retsinas, director of the [...]

In the current housing slump, construction has slowed significantly, and homebuilder confidence remains low.
The number of building permits for units of privately-owned housing built by a corporate developer fell nearly 18 percent in July from the month before, according to new residential construction data released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. [...]

Construction of homes and apartments fell in July to the lowest level in more than 17 years, but some economists said the drop could aid the slumping housing sector by helping reduce a glut of unsold properties.
The Commerce Department on Tuesday said builders broke ground on 965,000 housing units on an annualized basis, down from [...]

The number of homes and apartments being built in the US sank in July to the lowest level in more than 17 years, government figures show.
Builders started work on 965,000 properties, on an annualised basis, from 1.08 million in June, the Commerce Department said.
However, this was not as bleak as some had been expecting.
Separately, inflationary [...]

U.S. construction spending fell 0.4 percent in May on continued deterioration in the residential sector, but outside of home building private spending rose for the fifth consecutive month, government data on Tuesday showed.
Economists polled by Reuters ahead of the report were expecting a 0.6 percent decrease in overall construction spending after a 0.1 percent drop [...]