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The Home Improvement Research Institute’s October 2026 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 its 25-month tracking period. The report also records rising mortgage rates, lower consumer confidence and continued contractor job postponements.
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 point in the 25 months covered by its tracking. Its October economic update also showed mortgage rates climbing, consumer confidence falling and many contractors continuing to postpone or cancel scheduled jobs—indicators relevant to demand across the home improvement market.
The report said the 30-year mortgage rate rose to 6.86% in September, marking its seventh consecutive monthly increase and its highest level since January 2025. The report presents the rate movement alongside the dealer sales figure, but does not establish that higher borrowing costs caused a particular change in sales.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell 7.6% in September to 81.9, its lowest reading in the 25 months tracked, according to HIRI’s summary. The index provides a measure of consumer sentiment; the update does not quantify how that decline affected home improvement spending.
Contractor indicators were mixed. Among contractors reporting sales challenges, 45% cited difficulty closing new business, up from 23% in the second quarter of 2026. At the same time, 54% postponed or cancelled scheduled jobs in Q3, down from 60% in Q2, but above the 30% reported for Q3 2025. The figures describe different measures: one concerns closing business among contractors reporting sales challenges, while the other concerns scheduled work.
Pressure on Home Improvement Demand
The figures offer a snapshot of an industry facing contrasting signals. Dealer sales reached a high within HIRI’s tracking period, while a higher mortgage rate and weaker consumer confidence may make households more cautious about major purchases or projects. Those broader indicators do not, by themselves, show that consumers have reduced home improvement spending.
For contractors, the share reporting difficulty closing new business rose sharply from the previous quarter. Meanwhile, job postponements and cancellations eased from Q2 but remained well above the same quarter a year earlier. Together, the measures suggest that booking work and completing scheduled projects remain challenges for some contractors, even as cancellations declined from the prior quarter.
Retailers, suppliers and contractors can use the update to monitor market conditions, but the summary does not provide company-level results, regional comparisons or a forecast. Its figures should be read as indicators of the market environment, not proof of a single cause or prediction of future sales.
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What HIRI’s Monthly Update Tracks
HIRI’s Economic & Industry Update is a monthly report covering general economic data, housing market data and home improvement market data. The October edition evaluates economic indicators and their potential influence on the home improvement market, according to the report summary published by Hardware Retailing on November 4, 2026.
The sales figure is a rolling 12-month total for building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers, not sales in August alone. HIRI describes $520.5 billion as the highest level in the 25 months it tracked. The source does not supply a year-over-year comparison or detail the underlying monthly sales path in its published summary.
The contractor figures compare Q3 2026 with Q2 2026 and Q3 2025. They show that postponements and cancellations fell from the previous quarter but remained higher than a year earlier. The update’s short summary highlights five indicators; HIRI said the full report was available to members.
“Rolling 12-month sales at building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers reached $520.5 billion in August 2026.”
— The Home Improvement Research Institute, as summarized by Hardware Retailing
Limits of the Published Summary
The available summary does not explain why sales reached the reported high, whether the total reflects changes in prices, sales volume or both, or how results differed by product category or region. It also gives no comparison baseline for the sales total beyond identifying its place in HIRI’s 25-month tracking period.
HIRI’s summary does not establish whether mortgage rates or consumer confidence caused contractor difficulties, cancellations or any change in dealer sales. It does not include a forecast, the number of contractors surveyed, or further detail on how the contractor measures were collected. The 45% figure applies to contractors reporting sales challenges, not necessarily to all contractors.
Further Data From HIRI
The next step for readers seeking more detail is the full October HIRI update, which the published summary said was available to HIRI members. The monthly report’s future editions can show whether sales, rates, confidence and contractor activity continue in the same direction, but no next release date or forecast is given in the source material.
Until further data are published, the reported figures provide a dated snapshot: sales through August, economic indicators through September and contractor activity in Q3 2026. Those measures will need to be updated before readers can determine whether the divergence between record tracked sales and reported operating challenges persists.
Key Questions
What sales figure did HIRI report?
HIRI reported $520.5 billion in rolling 12-month sales at building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers in August 2026. It said this was the highest level in the 25 months tracked.
How high was the 30-year mortgage rate?
The rate reached 6.86% in September 2026, according to the update. HIRI said it was the seventh straight monthly increase and the highest level since January 2025.
Did contractor job postponements increase in Q3?
No, the reported share fell to 54% in Q3 2026 from 60% in Q2. However, it remained above the 30% reported for Q3 2025.
What happened to consumer confidence?
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell 7.6% to 81.9 in September, its lowest reading in the 25 months tracked, HIRI’s summary said.
Does the update explain why dealer sales reached a high?
No. The published summary reports the sales figure but does not identify its causes or say how mortgage rates and consumer confidence affected sales.
Source: hardwareretailing.com
