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HIRI’s October 2026 economic update says 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. At the same time, mortgage rates rose for a seventh consecutive month, consumer confidence fell, and contractors continued to report difficulty closing business and postponing jobs.
The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) reported $520.5 billion in rolling 12-month sales at building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers through August 2026, the highest level in its 25 months of tracking, even as mortgage rates climbed and contractors described continued sales and scheduling pressure. The figures appear in HIRI’s October economic update, which brings together economic, housing and home improvement indicators.
The sales figure covers the rolling 12 months ending in August, not sales made in August alone. HIRI’s report says that total was the highest reading in the 25-month period tracked. The source does not provide a year-over-year comparison or explain how inflation affected the reported dollar amount, so the figure should not be read as a specific measure of real growth.
The 30-year mortgage rate rose to 6.86% in September, marking 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 covered by the report.
HIRI also reported that 45% of contractors reporting sales challenges cited closing new business as a challenge, compared with 23% in the second quarter of 2026. In the third quarter, 54% of contractors postponed or cancelled scheduled jobs. That share was lower than the 60% reported for the second quarter, but remained above the 30% recorded in the third quarter of 2025.
Sales Records Meet Contractor Strain
The figures present a mixed picture for home improvement businesses. High rolling sales at building materials and garden suppliers suggest substantial spending across the tracked dealer category, while rising borrowing costs and weaker consumer confidence point to pressures that may affect household plans and demand for larger projects. The report does not establish that these indicators caused one another.
For contractors, the job data show why headline sales totals may not describe every part of the market. More contractors cited difficulty closing new business than in the prior quarter, and over half reported postponing or cancelling scheduled work in Q3. Although postponements and cancellations eased from Q2, the share remained considerably above the same quarter a year earlier. That pattern matters to contractors planning workloads and to suppliers gauging the timing of material orders.
The indicators are snapshots of different parts of the economy and use different periods and measures. They do not, by themselves, show whether the dealer sales record will continue, how many jobs were affected, or how much revenue contractors lost. They do show that strong aggregate sales can coexist with financing headwinds and uneven project execution.
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What HIRI Tracks Each Month
HIRI’s October 2026 Economic & Industry Update is a monthly report covering general economic data, housing market data and home improvement market data. It evaluates selected indicators and their potential influence on the home improvement market. The figures summarized in the source include dealer sales through August, mortgage rates and consumer confidence in September, and contractor responses for the second and third quarters.
The report’s sales measure is a rolling 12-month total for building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers. Its contractor figures describe the share reporting particular challenges or job changes, rather than a count of all contractors or projects. HIRI’s source report says the full update is available to members; the published summary provides the five headline findings but not the detailed methodology or breakdowns.
“Rolling 12-month sales at building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers reached $520.5 billion in August 2026.”
— Home Improvement Research Institute, October 2026 Economic & Industry Update, as summarized by Hardware Retailing
Limits of the Published Figures
The source summary does not include the full report’s methodology, sample size, regional data or detailed contractor survey wording. It is not clear how the contractor responses were weighted, how many respondents reported sales challenges, or whether postponements and cancellations were separated in the underlying data.
HIRI’s summary also does not identify the reasons contractors gave for delayed or cancelled jobs. It does not say whether higher mortgage rates or weaker consumer confidence drove the reported business challenges. The $520.5 billion figure is a rolling nominal sales total as presented by the source; no inflation-adjusted value, comparison with the same period in 2025 or subsequent-month sales figure is provided.
Full Report and Future Readings
The next useful comparison will be whether later HIRI updates show continued growth in rolling dealer sales, further movement in mortgage rates and a change in contractor job disruptions. The October summary does not provide a forecast or specify when the next update will be released.
HIRI says its full October update is available to members. That report may provide further detail on the indicators and their evaluation, but the published material does not establish a single cause for the mixed results. Until additional figures are available, the record sales total and contractor challenges should be treated as separate reported signals rather than proof of a market-wide trend.
Key Questions
What was the main finding in HIRI’s October 2026 update?
Rolling 12-month sales at building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers reached $520.5 billion in August, the highest level in HIRI’s 25 months of tracking.
What happened to mortgage rates?
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 report summary.
Were contractor job delays improving?
The share of contractors postponing or cancelling scheduled work fell to 54% in Q3 2026 from 60% in Q2. It was still higher than the 30% reported in Q3 2025.
Did HIRI say rising mortgage rates caused contractor challenges?
No. The published summary reports both higher mortgage rates and contractor challenges, but it does not establish a causal link between them.
Where can readers find more detail?
Hardware Retailing’s report says the full HIRI update is available to HIRI members. The public summary does not include detailed methodology or regional breakdowns.
Source: hardwareretailing.com
