Prices for nonlabor inputs used in residential remodeling climbed 6.6% year-over-year in the second quarter, marking the 11th consecutive quarter of rising costs, according to the National Association of Home Builders. While the spike outpaced the 5.4% increase in final demand prices and accelerated from the 3.9% annual incline in the first quarter, the remodeling figure still trailed the 7.8% rise in input prices for new residential construction.
Average hourly earnings for residential remodelers reached $37.91, up 0.8% from the previous quarter and 2.3% from a year earlier. While stronger than wage growth across residential building overall, the increase was below inflation as measured by both the Consumer Price Index and Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, putting real earnings in the negative.
Remodeling employment dipped to a seasonally adjusted 454,100 workers, down 5,100 from the first quarter 1.0% year-over-year. Remodelers still make up more than 49% of residential building construction employment, and the workforce remains more than 19% larger than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full report here.
