ReNews -- Remodelors Council News - 03/19/2008 (Plain Text Version)Lonny Rutherford, CGR, CAPS View Graphical Version | Subscribe to NAHB Publications | Email our Editor... In this issue: US Census Reverses Decision: C-50 Data UnsavedIn a surprising and unfortunate development, the Census Bureau has reversed its decision to maintain the C-50 survey that collects data on the remodeling industry. The money they had scrimped together to keep the C-50 going through 2008 was just redirected to the 2010 Census. The Census Bureau’s Manufacturing and Construction Division is planning to request a totally new survey to track remodeling data in a way that would be better than the current system. We will be working with them on the plans for this survey, and there is a reasonable chance they can get it approved. However, the earliest it could go into effect would be 2011 while the C-50 will cease after the 4th quarter 2007. At that point the Bureau of Economic Analysis will be estimating the residential remodeling component of GDP without any data. Losing these data from the Census means remodelers will lose the ability to track changes in their segment of the industry. Builders who may be considering diversifying into remodeling and manufacturers of products used in remodeling will have no data on which to base their business plans. Given that the government needs to produce a remodeling component of residential fixed investment for GDP, remodelers and builders and product manufacturers could even be lead into making poor business decision if they rely on this statistic which, beginning in 2008, will be estimated in some fashion based on no data whatever. In the current economic climate, when the U.S. economy is teetering on the brink of a recession and residential construction is contracting rapidly, lack of data on the remodeling sector may interfere with our ability to detect whether or not the U.S. economy actually slips into recession during 2008. Questions? Contact Paul Emrath ASVP, Housing Policy Research at pemrath@nahb.com. For more information or to contact us directly, please visit www.NAHB.org | ©2008, National Association of Home Builders |