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The Home Improvement Research Institute’s October 2026 economic update says rolling 12-month sales at building materials and garden supply dealers reached $520.5 billion in August, the highest level in its 25-month tracking period. The report also records a 6.86% 30-year mortgage rate in September, falling consumer confidence and continued contractor difficulties winning work and keeping jobs on schedule.
The Home Improvement Research Institute (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, even as mortgage rates rose and contractors reported difficulty closing new business. The figures appear in HIRI’s October economic and industry update, which tracks indicators affecting the home improvement market.
The report puts the 30-year mortgage rate at 6.86% in September, its seventh consecutive monthly increase and its highest reading since January 2025. HIRI also cites a 7.6% September decline in the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, which fell to 81.9, its lowest level in the report’s 25-month tracking period.
Contractor responses point to persistent challenges in winning and carrying out work. Among contractors reporting sales challenges, 45% cited closing new business, up from 23% in Q2 2026. In Q3, 54% postponed or cancelled scheduled jobs. That was down from 60% in Q2, but above the 30% reported for Q3 2025.
HIRI’s update brings together economic, housing and home improvement market data and evaluates indicators it says affect the sector. The figures describe different periods and measures: sales cover the rolling 12 months through August, the mortgage rate and confidence reading are for September, and contractor job disruptions are reported for Q3.
Demand Meets Contractor Friction
The numbers present a mixed picture for home improvement businesses. Record tracked sales indicate substantial revenue across the specified dealer categories, while the higher mortgage rate and lower consumer confidence may weigh on household decisions about projects. The update reports these indicators together; it does not establish that rate increases or confidence changes caused the sales or contractor results.
For contractors, the increase in reported difficulty closing new business suggests that sales totals alone do not describe how easily firms are securing upcoming work. The share postponing or cancelling jobs improved from Q2 but remained 24 percentage points above Q3 2025, based on the figures reported. These conditions matter to retailers and contractors planning staffing, inventory and project schedules, although the update does not forecast the effects on individual businesses.
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How HIRI Tracks Market Conditions
HIRI publishes a monthly Economic & Industry Update covering general economic data, housing market data and home improvement market information. Its October 2026 edition summarizes indicators and their potential relevance to the sector rather than reporting a single sales or housing transaction.
The sales figure is a rolling 12-month total for building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers. HIRI describes August’s $520.5 billion reading as the highest in the 25 months it tracked; that description does not establish a record beyond that period. The contractor figures compare survey responses across Q2 and Q3 2026 and Q3 2025.
“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.”
— Hardware Retailing, summarizing HIRI’s October 2026 update
Limits of the Reported Figures
The source summary does not provide the full report’s methodology, sample size or detailed breakdowns by region, contractor type or project category. It also does not specify how contractor responses were collected, so readers cannot determine from the summary how representative they are.
The reported figures do not show whether record sales were driven by higher prices, more transactions or a combination of factors. Nor do they quantify how mortgage rates or consumer confidence affected home improvement spending. The report’s sales, confidence, mortgage and contractor indicators cover different periods and should not be treated as a direct measure of one another.
Full Update and Future Readings
HIRI’s monthly update provides the next point of comparison as later economic and industry data become available. Its October edition is available through the institute; Hardware Retailing says readers can access the full update by becoming HIRI members.
Further readings would help show whether dealer sales remain at their August level, whether mortgage rates continue to rise, and whether contractors report fewer cancelled or postponed jobs. The source material does not give a date for the next update or make a forecast for those measures.
Key Questions
What did HIRI report about sales?
HIRI said rolling 12-month sales at building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers reached $520.5 billion in August 2026, the highest level in its 25-month tracking period.
How high was the 30-year mortgage rate?
The rate was 6.86% in September 2026, marking its seventh consecutive monthly increase and its highest level since January 2025, according to the report summary.
What challenges did contractors report?
Among contractors reporting sales challenges, 45% cited difficulty closing new business, compared with 23% in Q2 2026. In Q3, 54% postponed or cancelled scheduled jobs.
Did contractor job disruptions improve?
The share postponing or cancelling scheduled jobs fell from 60% in Q2 2026 to 54% in Q3. It remained higher than the 30% reported for Q3 2025.
Does the report explain why sales reached a tracked high?
The published summary gives the sales total and comparison period but does not explain whether the figure reflects price changes, sales volume or other factors. It also does not establish that rising mortgage rates or lower consumer confidence caused other reported outcomes.
Source: hardwareretailing.com
