The NAHB Remodeling Market Index (RMI) recorded a reading of 61 in the second quarter of 2026, which represents a one-point decrease from the previous quarter.
Over the past year, the RMI has maintained a consistent level in the low 60s.
Despite this minor decrease from the previous quarter, remodeler sentiment continues to be the most prominent sector within the housing industry, surpassing its single-family and multifamily counterparts.
The lock-in effect persists, as the incentive to remodel rather than purchase a new home remains due to the low levels of existing inventory, despite the fact that current mortgage rates are above the median outstanding rate for existing homeowners.
In addition, homeowners are currently sitting on record-high real estate asset gains that they can leverage to facilitate the financing of remodeling projects.
Nevertheless, the current cost pressures to inflation and ongoing economic uncertainty are resulting in project delays, particularly for larger ones.
In the most recent RMI survey, 74% of remodelers reported that their suppliers have raised the prices of materials since March as a result of higher fuel costs.
The average increase in material prices during this period was 6.7%.
Nevertheless, NAHB’s forecast for remodeling expenditure remains robust in the short and long term, as evidenced by the positive sentiment from the RMI and structural demand tailwinds.
The RMI is derived from a survey that requests that remodelers evaluate various aspects of the residential remodeling market as “good,” “fair,” or “poor.”
The responses to each query are transformed into an index that is positioned on a scale of 0 to 100.
A higher percentage of respondents perceive conditions as favorable than as unfavorable when the index exceeds 50.
Current Conditions
The Current Conditions Index and the Future Indicators Index make up the Remodeling Market Index (RMI), which is an average of the two key components.
The Current Conditions Index is a composite of three components: the current market for large remodeling projects ($50,000 or more), moderately-sized projects ($20,000 to $49,999), and minor projects (under $20,000).
The Current Conditions Index maintained its previous quarter’s average of 70 during the second quarter of 2026.
The moderately-sized remodeling projects component was up four points to 73, while the small projects component remained at 74 and the large projects component decreased three points to 64.
Future Indicators
The Future Indicators Index is a composite of two components: the current rate of lead and inquiry inflow and the current backlog of remodeling projects.
The Future Indicators Index averaged 52 in the second quarter of 2026, which is two points lower than the previous quarter.
Despite a quarter-over-quarter decrease in both components, they continue to exceed the break-even point of 50.
The component that measures the backlog of remodeling projects decreased by two points to 54, while the component that measures the current rate of leads and inquiries decreased by one point to 51.
Please visit NAHB’s RMI web page to access the complete set of RMI tables, which includes regional indices and a comprehensive history for each RMI component.
[Read more about this topic on Eyeonhousing.org]