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The National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Market Index averaged 62 in the third quarter of 2026, indicating more remodelers viewed market conditions as good than poor. Current conditions held at 70, while the future indicators measure rose two points to 54; remodelers also reported material costs, labor availability and customer hesitation as ongoing challenges.
The National Association of Home Builders’ Remodeling Market Index (RMI) averaged 62 in the third quarter of 2026, the organization reported, indicating that more remodelers rated market conditions as good than poor. Current conditions remained unchanged at 70, while the future indicators measure rose two points to 54, offering a mixed but generally positive picture of remodeling demand and workloads.
The RMI is based on remodelers’ assessments of five parts of the market, rated as good, fair or poor. The survey’s Current Conditions Index combines views of large, moderate and small projects. It averaged 70 for the third consecutive quarter. Each project-size component remained above 50, the threshold at which more respondents view conditions as good than poor.
The large-project component, covering jobs of $50,000 or more, increased two points to 66. The moderate-project measure, for work costing at least $20,000 but less than $50,000, fell two points to 71. The small-project component, for jobs under $20,000, edged down one point to 73. Those moves left the overall current-conditions average unchanged.
The Future Indicators Index, which averages incoming leads and inquiries with the current backlog of projects, rose two points from the prior quarter to 54. The leads-and-inquiries component increased two points to 53, and the backlog component also gained two points, reaching 56. The overall RMI is the average of the current-conditions and future-indicators indexes; the results are seasonally adjusted.
Steady Demand Meets Delivery Constraints
The index points to a remodeling market that remains in positive territory, but it does not mean every contractor or region is seeing the same conditions. All five measured components stood above 50, while changes in the future indicators suggest a modest improvement in reported leads and project backlogs compared with the previous quarter.
For homeowners and contractors, the reported constraints may affect whether projects proceed and how long they take. NAHB Remodelers Chair Elliott Pike said remodelers in some parts of the country continued to report high material costs and difficulty finding enough labor to complete work on schedule. He also said economic uncertainty was making some prospective customers hesitant to commit to projects. These are statements from the survey’s industry representatives, not separate measurements of costs, labor supply or cancellations in the reported figures.
The results matter to building-material suppliers and other businesses serving contractors because stable sentiment suggests continued activity, while labor and cost pressures can complicate scheduling and project completion. The index is a survey measure of respondents’ views, rather than a count of projects or a forecast of revenue.
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How the Remodeling Index Is Built
The RMI uses five survey components to summarize remodelers’ assessments of the market. Respondents classify conditions as good, fair or poor, and each component is converted to an index on a 0-to-100 scale. A reading above 50 means the share describing conditions as good exceeds the share describing them as poor; it does not mean that 62% of remodelers reported good conditions.
The Current Conditions Index averages views of large, moderate and small remodeling projects. The Future Indicators Index averages the reported pace of incoming leads and inquiries with the existing project backlog. The overall index averages those two measures. NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz said the Q3 reading was consistent with the organization’s projection that remodeling activity would remain stable in 2026 and grow slightly in 2027. That statement is a forecast, not a result measured by the third-quarter survey.
Dietz also said remodeling was gaining share in the wider construction market and was somewhat less sensitive than new construction to elevated interest rates. He attributed longer project completion times to labor shortages, which he said were exacerbated by immigration enforcement and competition from data-center construction. The supplied report does not quantify those effects or provide regional breakdowns.
Regional Pressures Remain Unquantified
The reported index does not show how sentiment varies across regions, how many remodelers face material or labor constraints, or the size of those effects on project costs and schedules. It also does not quantify customer hesitation or establish how many prospective jobs are being postponed. The source material provides the index readings and quarter-to-quarter changes but no respondent counts, survey dates or detailed methodology beyond the index construction.
The 2027 outlook is NAHB’s projection, not a confirmed outcome. The report does not specify the expected rate of growth or how interest rates, labor availability, material costs and economic uncertainty could alter that forecast. The current figures also cannot establish whether the improvement in future indicators will continue in coming quarters.
Watch the Next Quarterly Reading
The next RMI release will show whether the two-point rise in the Future Indicators Index is sustained and whether current conditions remain at 70. Readers following the sector can also watch the large-, moderate- and small-project components separately, since their Q3 movements differed despite all remaining above 50.
Further survey releases may add evidence about whether reported leads and backlogs translate into completed work. Until then, NAHB’s expectation of stable activity in 2026 and slight growth in 2027 remains a forecast, while the scale and duration of reported labor, material-cost and customer-confidence pressures remain unresolved.
Key Questions
What was the Remodeling Market Index in Q3 2026?
The NAHB Remodeling Market Index averaged 62 in the third quarter of 2026. A reading above 50 means more remodelers rated market conditions as good than poor.
Did current remodeling conditions improve?
The Current Conditions Index averaged 70 for the third consecutive quarter, so it was unchanged overall. Large-project sentiment rose two points to 66, while moderate and small-project readings each declined slightly.
What improved in the future indicators?
The Future Indicators Index rose two points to 54 from the prior quarter. Leads and inquiries reached 53, and the project-backlog component reached 56.
What challenges did remodelers report?
NAHB Remodelers Chair Elliott Pike said some remodelers faced high material costs and difficulty finding enough labor. He also said economic uncertainty was making some prospective customers hesitant to proceed. The report does not quantify the effects.
Does the Q3 result confirm growth in 2027?
No. NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz said the result was consistent with NAHB’s projection that remodeling activity would remain stable in 2026 and grow slightly in 2027. That is a forecast, not a confirmed future outcome.
Source: rss
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