Remodeling Contractors Outnumber New Home Builders, National Association Says

As of 2024, remodeling firms accounted for 56 percent of all residential building construction establishments.

A workman cuts sections of a bean at a housing site in Madison County, Miss., on March 16, 2021. Rogelio V. Solis/AP Photo

The high cost of new residential homes, coupled with elevated mortgage rates, has Americans turning to remodeling as a more cost-effective alternative to new construction.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said in its Eye on Housing report, published Nov. 10, that more than half of all residential builders are remodeling contractors. The number of remodeling contractors jumped 85 percent, from 69,000 in 2000 to more than 128,000 in the first quarter of 2025.