Natural disaster repairs are growing in their share of the overall remodeling market. According to data from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies in their latest Improving America’s Housing 2025 report, this is an increasing trend. From 2022 and 2023 spending for repairs caused by natural disasters represented 6 percent of the total market share. This is up from 4 percent reported two decades earlier.
According to the NOAA Billion Dollar Weather and Climate Disaster database, in 2023 the U.S. experienced 28 record breaking disasters each with an estimated total for disaster repair of $1 billion. This is over double the rate in the 2010s of 13.1 individual billion-dollar disaster events annually. Reports from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies report that homeowners spent an average of $22,100 in 2023 on disaster repairs, an increase from $17,900 (adjusted for inflation) two decades earlier.
This effects nearly all stretches of the country. Using the same figures from 2023, repairs for disaster damages were split by
- hailstorms, snowstorms, and windstorms (45 %)
- hurricanes and tornadoes (31%)
- fires (16%)
- flooding (8%)
Professionals in both construction and insurance are urging for homeowners to begin mitigation projects before disasters strike. These projects include replacing exterior housing materials with noncombustible alternatives, strengthening roofs against high winds and elevating mechanical equipment or entire homes above flood levels.
“Disaster reconstruction is poised to be a major driver of growth in the home improvement industry, with increasing hazard exposure spurring significant demand to repair and fortify existing homes. Meeting this need will require a sector of specialized contractors, remodelers, and skilled trade workers to carry out the work of addressing damages and improving resiliency in the housing stock,” said Sophia Wedeen, Senior Research Analyst at Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies.Â
Read More
