Tile and Terrazzo Contractors NAICS 238340

May 7, 2025 - Home Builders Boost Incentives to Lure Wary Buyers

• US home builders are dangling more incentives to close deals amid a tepid spring home-buying season that is halfway over, according to The Wall Street Journal. Builders typically notch 40% of their annual sales during the spring, but mortgage rates that are stuck around 7% and a lack of affordability have reduced demand. Builders have increased incentives to bring buyers off the sidelines, including mortgage-rate buydowns, design upgrades, and price cuts. In the first two weeks of April, incentives offered by builders equaled 7.2% of the purchase price, up from 6.1% in January, according to data from John Burns Research & Consulting. Incentives are eating into builder profits during a season that usually sees few discounts, and prices tend to rise. Soft demand for new homes is expected to worsen as the effects of tariffs take hold, potentially adding between $5,000 and $15,000 to the cost of a new home.
• Home remodeling spending is expected to see slight gains through 2026 after two years of weakening expenditures, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) report released in April by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard. Homeowner improvements and repairs are expected to increase 0.8% to $505 billion in the second quarter of 2025 compared to Q2 2024. In the third quarter of 2025, remodeling spending will rise to $506 billion, up 1.4% from Q3 2024. Spending will then increase to $512 billion in Q4 2025, up 1.8% from Q4 2024. In the first quarter of 2026, year-over-year spending is forecast to rise 2.8% to a record $526 billion. Joint Center expects improvements to be supported by increasing home values, a steady labor market, and gradually improving existing home sales. However, uncertainty stemming from trade strife and waning consumer confidence could put downward pressure on remodeling demand.

• North American construction and engineering spending in 2025 is expected to grow by 3% after increasing an estimated 7% in 2024, according to FMI’s second-quarter 2025 North American Engineering and Construction Outlook. Nonresidential building construction spending is forecast to be flat in 2025 as growth in amusement and recreation (+7%), transportation (+3%), public safety (+3%), and educational (+3%) is offset by weakness in commercial (-7%), lodging (-5%), and manufacturing (-1%). Amid high mortgage interest rates and a lack of affordability, single-family construction spending is forecast to rise by 3% in 2025. A recent jump in new apartment supply and unfavorable cost conditions will reduce multifamily spending by 12% in 2025.
• The total value of construction put in place decreased 0.5% in March compared to February, according to the US Census Bureau. Spending on nonresidential projects fell 0.5%, and residential spending declined by 0.4%. Within the nonresidential segment, 11 of 18 construction subcategories saw spending decline, including healthcare (down 1.8%), lodging (-1.3%), office (-1.2%), commercial (-1%), and educational (-0.8%). Spending was also weaker for power, highway and street, sewage and waste disposal, manufacturing, and communication. Pockets of nonresidential building spending growth included transportation (up 1.2%), public safety (+0.7%), and amusement and recreation (+0.1%). Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu said, “Data center investments, which accounted for more than 70% of the increase in private nonresidential construction spending between March 2024 and March 2025, are perhaps the only remaining source of industry momentum. Manufacturing construction, while still elevated, has wavered in recent months. Most commercial segments remain subdued under the weight of high borrowing costs and tight lending standards. Residential construction continues to slide.”