Key facts
- Homeowner interest in using home equity to fund remodeling projects stalled in the third quarter.
- Point's Homeowner Remodeling Index (PHRI) is tracking toward its weakest reading since early 2024.
- The PHRI slipped to a neutral reading over the summer.
- Nearly 62.5% of home equity investment inquiries to Point in the first two months of the third quarter referenced a home remodel.
- A Point survey found 65% of homeowners plan to remodel in the next 12 to 18 months.
- Point attributed the softer third-quarter reading to elevated mortgage rates, high construction material costs, and broader economic uncertainty.
Homeowner interest in using home equity to fund remodeling projects stalled in the third quarter, tracking toward its weakest reading since early 2024 after two quarters of gains, according to preliminary data published Tuesday in Point’s Homeowner Remodeling Index (PHRI).
The PHRI, based on quarterly changes in homeowner inquiries to Point that specifically cite renovation as the purpose for home equity financing, slipped to a neutral reading over the summer. That followed a second-quarter reading that was near the top of the index’s historical range and the highest since early 2022, Point said.
Nearly 62.5% of all home equity investment (HEI) inquiries to Point in the first two months of the third quarter referenced a home remodel. That share was down from 64.9% in the second quarter but above 60.7% in the same period of 2025. Index values above zero indicate expanding remodeling demand, while values below zero suggest contraction.
The slowdown comes despite strong stated intent to renovate. A separate Point survey conducted in spring 2026 found that 65% of homeowners plan to remodel in the next 12 to 18 months. Of those planning a remodel, 62% expect to use something other than cash to pay for the project, 65% anticipate spending more than $10,000, and nearly one in five (18.6%) expect to spend more than $50,000.
Point attributed the softer third-quarter reading to elevated mortgage rates, high construction material costs and broader economic uncertainty, all of which can make homeowners more cautious about tapping home equity for improvements. For lenders and contractors, the report suggests that remodel pipelines could be flatter heading into 2027 than survey-based sentiment alone would imply.
Regional trends show remodeling-related equity demand is generally stable across Western states, and accelerating in parts of the East and Southeast. Compared with 2025, the first three quarters of 2026 saw the largest increases in home remodel interest in Indiana, Tennessee and Georgia. West of the Rocky Mountains, only Colorado, Nevada and Arizona posted accelerating interest. Point said interest was stable elsewhere and did not decline versus 2025 in any state with available data.
Geographic dispersion matters for lenders, contractors and building product suppliers that are shifting resources away from slower markets. States with rising remodel-related equity demand could see more near-term activity in contractor hiring and materials purchases, even if national-level demand is plateauing.
Point positions the PHRI as a forward-looking measure that captures intent at the moment homeowners begin seeking financing, before projects start. The index is built from all homeowner inquiries to Point for home equity investments and filters to those explicitly mentioning renovation or remodeling. A completed transaction is not required for the interest to be counted.
The index is seasonally adjusted and benchmarked to the first quarter of 2019. State-level readings are available only where Point offers HEIs.
Point said the PHRI complements other remodeling metrics such as those from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University and John Burns Research and Consulting. While those indexes focus more on projects that are underway or completed, the PHRI captures earlier-stage demand, when homeowners are first exploring ways to pay for a remodel. Point noted that the remodeling sector has lacked real-time, official data since the U.S. Census Bureau ended its Survey of Residential Alterations and Repairs in 2007. The remaining federal datasets, such as the American Housing Survey, are published biannually and with a significant lag. For housing professionals, proprietary gauges like the PHRI have become more important for tracking short-term shifts in renovation demand.
Additional survey data in Tuesday’s report comes from Point’s 2026 Moving & Sentiment Study, which polled 1,007 U.S. homeowners in spring 2026 across major regions, age groups and income levels. All respondents were owner-occupants of their primary residence.