Abstract
Spending on existing housing is important not only for the building materials, building products, and construction markets but also for the macroeconomy. It accounts for about half of total spending on housing capital. The new construction, home improvement, maintenance, and repair markets use overlapping distribution channels, labor, and capital inputs. The various segments of the housing industry touch many other industries and exhibit different patterns over the course of the business cycle. Understanding the unique characteristics of these segments helps business economists and macroeconomists in planning and interpreting changes in the economy as well as estimating better forecasting models.
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Notes
Strictly speaking, as the definition below shows, remodeling is a subset of home improvement.
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Additional information
*Dr. Emil Berendt is Assistant Professor of Economics at Mount St. Mary’s University in Maryland. He has a Ph.D. from the City University of New York Graduate Center. Prior to his current position he worked for Owens Corning forecasting the building materials and housing markets. He also worked for AT&T for eleven years in forecasting and regulatory economics. In addition to his corporate work he taught at several universities, including the University of Wisconsin and Friends University. He taught courses in topics such as economic theory, econometrics, managerial economics, and business research methods.
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Berendt, E. The Home Improvement, Maintenance, and Repair Industry. Bus Econ 50, 101–108 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/be.2015.7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/be.2015.7