Unemployment is up and continuing in that direction. If you don't have a job doesn't matter if you're staying put or not. You're not going to put in new cabinets.

Home Depot and Lowes have both lowered outlook for next year. That tells me they think the market for home improvements is not going anywhere but down.

>OTOH people staying put and not trading up tend to improve their current houses and so buy new kitchens etc.