Spending on home improvement could fall next year

One of the big drivers of consumer spending in the last several years has been home improvement. Spending by homeowners on remodeling and repairs has been growing year after year, to about $326 billion annually. A combination of factors have driven demand — from people staying in their homes longer to an increase in natural disasters that force homeowners to repair and renovate their homes. Now a closely-watched indicator of home improvement demand is signaling the first decline in a decade.

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