New numbers from the National Association of Home Builders put Washington fifth in the nation for growth in remodeling spending in the first quarter of 2026, up $269.1 million, or 3.5 percent. That is notable on its own. What makes it more interesting is what the rest of the country did at the same time.
Ten states posted negative growth in that same quarter. That is double the five states in the red at the end of 2025. NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz described the latest results as reflecting "cyclical weakness in remodeling spending."
So most of the country is pulling back, and Washington is one of the few places still moving up.
Why here, and why now
NAHB points at two drivers, and both describe the Inland Northwest almost exactly.
Aging housing stock. Dietz noted that remodeling growth has been "supported by an aging housing stock and record-high home equity gains." Spokane and Coeur d'Alene are full of homes built in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, built to energy standards that either barely existed or did not exist at all. Those homes are now 50 to 75 years old, and the things that were skipped when they went up are the things costing their owners money every month.
Record home equity. Homeowners are sitting on more equity than at almost any point on record. That is what turns "we should really do something about that" into an actual project. NAHB Remodelers chairman Elliott Pike made the same point, that "rising home equity enables more homeowners to fund projects that meet their needs."
Put those together and you get the situation a lot of Spokane and Coeur d'Alene homeowners are in right now. An older house with real deferred needs, and for the first time in a while, the means to address them.
The harder question: where do the dollars go?
Here is where it gets practical. If you are one of the people spending on your home this year, and the broader market is tight enough that ten states have gone negative, the question is not just whether to invest in your house. It is which line item you pick.
Most remodel projects fall into one of two buckets.
Projects that change how your home looks and functions. A new kitchen, an updated bathroom, refinished floors, a deck. These are real improvements. You enjoy them every day, and they matter at resale. But once the check clears, they do not send you any money back. A new kitchen costs what it costs, and then it costs a little more every year in maintenance.
Projects that change what your home costs to operate. Insulation, air sealing, windows, HVAC. These are less fun. Nobody posts a photo of their attic. But they change the monthly number on your energy bill, permanently, and they keep changing it for as long as you own the house.
In a tight market, the second bucket is the one that behaves differently from the rest.
Project |
Improves daily life |
Helps at resale |
Lowers your monthly bill |
|---|---|---|---|
Kitchen remodel |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Bathroom remodel |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Deck or patio |
Yes |
Some |
No |
Flooring |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
Insulation and air sealing |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
That last column is the whole argument. Insulation is the only one on this list where the project keeps working after it is finished.
What insulation actually returns
ENERGY STAR estimates that homeowners who air seal and add insulation save an average of 15 percent on heating and cooling costs, or about 11 percent on total energy costs.
For a home that starts out with empty walls, which describes a great many pre-1980 houses around here, the number tends to run higher, because there is simply more waste to eliminate.
Run it on your own house instead of on an average. Pull your last twelve months of energy usage, add up what you spent on heating and cooling, and take 15 percent of it. That is a conservative annual return. Divide the project cost by that figure and you have a rough payback period in years.
Then notice two things that number leaves out, both in your favor.
It does not account for comfort. The back bedroom being usable in January is worth something to you even though it never appears on a bill. Neither does the fact that the furnace stops running in long cycles all night.
It does not account for rising rates. Your savings are a percentage, not a fixed dollar amount. As energy costs go up, the same insulation returns more. A one-time cost measured against a rising expense gets better with time, not worse.
About incentives, honestly
This is worth being straight about, because the landscape changed recently and a lot of information online is out of date.
The federal tax credit is gone. The Section 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, which used to cover 30 percent of insulation costs up to $1,200 a year, ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. If you are reading an article that tells you to claim it in 2026, that article is stale. IRS guidance on this is clear.
Utility rebates may still apply. Regional utility efficiency programs in Washington and North Idaho have historically offered per-square-foot rebates on attic, wall, and floor insulation for existing homes, generally requiring contractor installation and an itemized invoice. These programs change, sometimes yearly. Ask your installer what is currently active for your address and your utility before you assume anything either way.
Financing is common. Most homeowners do not write a single check for this work. Insulation financing is widely available, and the monthly payment frequently lands in the same neighborhood as the monthly savings, which is the entire point of the exercise.
If you are already planning a remodel, sequence it right
This is the single most useful piece of advice in this post, and it costs nothing.
If you have any project coming up that involves opening walls, replacing siding, or reworking an attic, do the insulation at the same time. Not after. Before the finish work goes back on.
- Re-siding the house? That is the cheapest access to your wall cavities you will ever have. Insulating during a siding job is dramatically less expensive than doing it as a standalone project later.
- Redoing a bathroom or kitchen on an exterior wall? The wall is already open. Fill it.
- Roof work or an attic conversion? Air seal and insulate the attic floor while there is access and a crew is already on site.
- Finishing a basement? Rim joist and foundation treatment is nearly free to add while you are framing, and painful to retrofit afterward.
Doing it out of order is how people end up paying twice. It happens constantly, because insulation is invisible and easy to forget when you are picking tile.
What this all adds up to
Washington ranking fifth in the country for remodeling growth while ten states go negative says something about where we are. There is money going into homes here, and there are a lot of older homes worth putting it into.
The point is not that you should skip the kitchen. It is that if you have a list, and most people do, the item that pays you back every month probably deserves to be higher on it than it usually is. Especially in a house that has been quietly losing heat through empty walls since the Eisenhower administration.
Frequently asked questions
Is Washington really growing in remodeling while the country slows? Yes. NAHB's state-level remodeling data for the first quarter of 2026 ranks Washington fifth in the nation for growth, up $269.1 million or 3.5 percent, while the number of states with negative growth doubled from five to ten over the same period.
What is driving remodeling growth in Washington? NAHB credits two factors: an aging housing stock and record-high home equity. Both apply strongly to Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, where a large share of homes were built before modern energy codes and owners now have the equity to address deferred work.
Which home improvement gives the best return? It depends on how you define return. Kitchens and bathrooms return at resale. Insulation and air sealing are unusual in that they return every month you own the home, through lower heating and cooling costs, in addition to helping at resale.
Is there still a federal tax credit for insulation in 2026? No. The Section 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025. Regional utility rebate programs may still be available depending on your utility and your address, so it is worth asking before you write off incentives entirely.
Should I insulate before or after a remodel? Before, every time. If a project involves opening walls, replacing siding, or accessing the attic, insulating during that work costs far less than doing it separately afterward. Insulating after the finish work goes back on means paying for access twice.
How much does insulation actually save? ENERGY STAR estimates an average of 15 percent on heating and cooling costs, or about 11 percent on total energy costs, for homeowners who air seal and insulate. Older, under-insulated homes typically save more because they start from a lower baseline.
Is insulation worth it if I might sell in a few years? It generally helps twice. You get the lower bills while you are there, and an efficient, comfortable home shows better and gives buyers one less thing to negotiate over, particularly in an older home where operating costs are on their mind.
Thinking about where your remodel dollars should go?
We will come out, look at your walls and attic, tell you exactly what is there, and give you a written number. Then you can weigh it against everything else on your list with real information instead of a guess. Free, and no pressure.
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USA Insulation of Spokane and Coeur d'Alene | 509-862-5655
