The high cost of new residential homes, coupled with elevated mortgage rates, has Americans turning to remodeling as a more cost-effective alternative to new construction.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said in its Eye on Housing report, published Nov. 10, that more than half of all residential builders are remodeling contractors. The number of remodeling contractors jumped 85 percent, from 69,000 in 2000 to more than 128,000 in the first quarter of 2025.
Remodeling establishments are better positioned to withstand difficult economic conditions than new home builders, NAHB noted. In the years following the Great Recession, the number of remodeling establishments contracted by 8 percent, while about one-third of new residential construction businesses failed. Prior to the recession, remodelers accounted for slightly more than one-third of home builders, but starting in 2011, that number has continued to rise….