Homeowners all over the country are hearing the media over and over again announce the downfall of the U.S economy. It is easy to interpret the “news” as: Global meltdown is eminent! The economy will never recover! This is a catastrophe! This leaves homeowners wondering if now is a good time to spend funds on remodeling a house that is declining in value.

Although it is clear that the economy is slow, it is very unclear just how dour this slow down is. People are wondering if the rock bottom has been hit yet, and if their homes have gone back to the prices once set in the 1990s. Throughout the country the levels of decline in home prices vary. For example, in New Jersey homes have declined in price on average fifteen to twenty percent. The good news however, is that Remodeling has declined in price as well. An average bathroom remodeling in today’s economy costs between six and eight thousand dollars. That is a fifty percent decline in price! Economy conscious consumers are realising that now is the exact time to remodel their house.

The low prices of remodeling your home will not stay that way for long. The fly by night contractor that came into business, to cash in on the sub prime wave, is slowly going out of business. Also, the quantity of qualified contractors out there is diminishing. Furthermore, many investors are cashing in on the lowest interest rates seen in many years, causing a rise for demand of these quality contractors. It’s the simple law of supply and demand; the demand is increasing, and the supply decreasing creating a shortage. This scarcity will cause an increase in the cost to remodel a house.

The logic of the above statement could be questioned; however here is a very recent example.  Not even a year ago, automobile dealerships were having a very hard time attracting clients to purchase SUV’s even though the cost was at a record low. This was caused by the very high prices at the gas pumps. Now, not even a year later, the same vehicles are selling again at much higher prices. People are no longer worried about the price of gas and favor the enjoyment of travelling around in a much larger vehicle of a tiny gas saving car.

No one knows exactly when the economy crunch will be over. The numbers seem to say however, that if you can afford to, now is a great time to buy a house and remodel it