Onset of Coronavirus Causes a Reversal in RRI Outlook

Metrostudy/Zonda projects the RRI’s streak of consecutive quarters of annual and quarterly growth will come to an end in 2020.

Big-ticket remodeling spending increased 2.5% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2020 and 0.7% from the fourth quarter, according to the latest Residential Remodeling Index (RRI) released by Metrostudy/Zonda. The index rose to a new high of 120.4, indicating economic conditions known to influence remodeling activity are 20.4% higher than the old peak in 2007.

The RRI has posted 32 consecutive quarters of annual and quarterly growth since national remodeling activity bottomed out in 2011. However, Metrostudy/Zonda projects this streak will come to an end in 2020 due to the onset of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its effect on the national economy and housing market.