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The Home Improvement Research Institute’s October 2026 economic update reports that rolling 12-month sales at building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers reached $520.5 billion in August, the highest level in the 25 months tracked. The update also records a seventh consecutive monthly rise in 30-year mortgage rates and continued contractor difficulties closing work and keeping scheduled jobs on track.
The Home Improvement Research Institute’s October 2026 economic update reports that rolling 12-month sales at building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers reached $520.5 billion in August, the highest level in the 25 months covered. The same update points to headwinds for the industry: mortgage rates rose for a seventh straight month, consumer confidence fell, and contractors continued to report difficulty closing business and completing scheduled work.
HIRI’s monthly update brings together general economic, housing-market and home-improvement data. The reported $520.5 billion is a rolling 12-month sales total for building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers, not a single-month sales figure. HIRI said it was the highest level in the 25 months tracked; the source report does not provide a year-over-year comparison for that total.
The 30-year mortgage rate reached 6.86% in September 2026, its seventh consecutive monthly increase and its highest level since January 2025, according to the update. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell 7.6% to 81.9 in September, its lowest reading in the 25 months tracked. These figures describe different measures and periods; the update does not establish that either caused a particular change in home-improvement purchases.
Contractor indicators were mixed. In Q3 2026, 45% of contractors reporting sales challenges cited closing new business, compared with 23% in Q2. Meanwhile, 54% of contractors postponed or cancelled scheduled jobs in Q3, down from 60% in Q2 but above the 30% recorded in Q3 2025. The report summary does not specify the number of contractors surveyed or provide further detail on the causes of the job changes.
Sales Strength Meets Industry Headwinds
The figures present a split picture for businesses serving homeowners and contractors. The rolling sales total shows that dealer sales remained at the highest point in HIRI’s 25-month tracking period, while higher borrowing costs and weaker consumer confidence may make housing and renovation decisions more difficult for some households. The data, on their own, do not show how much mortgage rates or confidence affected sales.
Contractor reports matter because postponed jobs can affect demand for supplies and the timing of revenue for both tradespeople and retailers. The decline in cancellations from Q2 is a positive change in the quarterly comparison, but the Q3 level remains substantially above the same quarter a year earlier. The reported difficulty closing new business also rose sharply from Q2, suggesting that strong aggregate dealer sales do not mean every part of the home-improvement market faces the same conditions.
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How HIRI Tracks Market Conditions
The October document is part of HIRI’s monthly Economic & Industry Update, which evaluates general economic and housing indicators alongside home-improvement market data. Its headline sales measure covers a rolling 12 months and is reported for building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers. HIRI’s summary places that measure at an August 2026 endpoint, while the mortgage-rate and consumer-confidence readings are for September and the contractor figures cover Q3.
The reported comparisons have different baselines: sales are described as the highest in a 25-month tracking period; mortgage rates are compared with prior months and January 2025; confidence is compared with August and the same tracking period; contractor responses are compared with Q2 2026 or Q3 2025. Keeping those time frames separate is necessary to read the update accurately. The source article summarizes five findings but does not reproduce the full report’s methods or detailed tables.
“Rolling 12-month sales at building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers reached $520.5 billion in August 2026.”
— Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI), as summarized by Hardware Retailing
What the Summary Does Not Explain
Hardware Retailing’s report does not include the full HIRI update, so the survey sample, collection methods and detailed definitions behind the contractor figures are not available in the supplied material. It is also unclear whether the postponed or cancelled jobs were delayed, permanently abandoned, or affected by particular project types or regions.
The reported sales total does not establish which products or customers drove the increase, and no direct link is provided between mortgage rates, consumer confidence and dealer sales. HIRI’s summary gives specific readings and comparisons, but it does not offer a forecast or quantify how current economic conditions may affect future home-improvement spending.
Full HIRI Update and Future Readings
HIRI says readers can access the full October Economic & Industry Update by becoming a member. That report may provide additional data and methodology behind the figures summarized by Hardware Retailing. Future monthly updates will show whether the mortgage-rate and confidence trends continue and whether dealer sales and contractor job disruptions change in subsequent reporting periods.
For now, the latest figures cover different windows: dealer sales through August, mortgage rates and confidence in September, and contractor experiences in Q3 2026. They offer a current snapshot, but do not yet establish a forward outlook for sales, project cancellations or contractor business conditions.
Key Questions
What is HIRI’s main sales finding?
HIRI reported that rolling 12-month sales at building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers reached $520.5 billion in August 2026, the highest level in the 25 months tracked.
How high did the 30-year mortgage rate reach?
The update put the 30-year mortgage rate at 6.86% in September 2026, after seven consecutive monthly increases. HIRI said it was the highest level since January 2025.
Were contractor job postponements getting better?
The share of contractors reporting postponed or cancelled scheduled jobs fell to 54% in Q3 2026, from 60% in Q2. It remained higher than the 30% reported in Q3 2025.
What did contractors say was making sales harder?
Among contractors reporting sales challenges, 45% cited closing new business in Q3 2026, compared with 23% in Q2. The supplied summary does not explain why the share increased.
Does the update prove that higher rates reduced home-improvement sales?
No. The summary reports higher mortgage rates and sales figures but does not establish a causal link between them or quantify the effect of borrowing costs on home-improvement purchases.
Source: hardwareretailing.com
