Two Hammers

The knee jerk reaction from the subprime debacle is in full swing; putting homeowners in a wait and see mode.  As such, there are not many larger projects entering the pipeline.  This is going to make for a slow first quarter.  As homeowners start to settle down about the beginning of the second quarter, and realize that they still have a lot of equity in their homes, interest in remodeling should pickup.  Unfortunatel, with the long lead times to get remodeling projects off the ground, there will not be a substantial pickup in work until the start of the third quarter.

In the interim, homeowners afraid to enter the housing market, still have a strong interest in sprucing up their homes.  As a result there should be a shift from large remodels to more modest face lift type projects and maintenance driven projects.  In contractor terms – here come the powder room remodels.