Remodeling "Slowing Down" but Still on Track to Outpace 2011

Permits for remodeling were down six percent in June from one month earlier BuildFax said this morning.  Remodels authorized by permit in the U.S. dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.75 million in June compared to 2.90 million in May and was 1 percent below the estimate of 2.753 million in June 2011.

"Remodeling growth is slowing down, but we still estimate that more residential remodeling projects will be permitted in 2012 than in 2011," said Joe Emison, Vice President of Research and Development at BuildFax.

BuildFax bases its Remodeling Index (BFRI) on construction permits for residential remodeling projects filed with over 5,000 local building departments across the country. 

Activity was down in every region from May to June and down on an annual basis in two regions.  In the Northeast the annual rate was 692,000 permits, down 11 percent from May but up 7 percent from June 2011.  In the South the month-over-month change was -5 percent to 1.071 million permits, a 1 percent annual increase.  The Midwest dropped 9 percent on both a monthly and annual basis to 487,000 units, and the West was off 8 percent and 9 percent respectively to 724,000 permits.