The National Association of Home Builders' recent Remodeling Market Index showed that remodeling activity remained steady across most of the country in the fourth quarter of 2006, even with a sagging housing market.

The National Association of Home Builders' recent Remodeling Market Index showed that remodeling activity remained steady across most of the country in the fourth quarter of 2006, even with a sagging housing market. Overall, NAHB members see maintenance of high levels of remodeling activity and solid future prospects.

"Though the substantial reductions in home sales and new housing production have impacted the remodeling market to some degree, we feel that remodeling of both owner-occupied and rental housing will remain strong compared to other areas of the industry," said NAHB Chief Economist Dave Seiders. "With record levels of homeowner equity and the constant need to upgrade the older housing stock, the remodeling outlook appears quite good for years to come."

Regionally, the South reported the most growth. The West’s current conditions increased, but future expectations fell, while the Northeast current prospects were down but increased its future expectations. The Midwest showed declines in both indexes.

The RMI measures remodeler perceptions of market demand for current and future residential remodeling projects.