U.S. homeowners cool on remodelling

NEW YORK — The home remodelling boom in the U.S. may be set to come to an end, according to a MarketWatch report. Expenditures on remodelling have benefitted from a “funk” in the housing market, which encouraged owners to renovate instead of selling. Now, the report says, “inertia” in the housing market means fewer prospective buyers, usually a significant source of home improvement spending, are out house-hunting. The report forecasts that expenditures will continue to rise in 2019, but the pace of growth will slow from quarter to quarter.