According to Mortgage Banking Magazine, remodeling is a growth industry -- again.  The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released in late April by a research group at Harvard University, add up the rise in pending home sales and the low interest rates, and LIRA projects spending will grow in 2012, ending the year up 5.9 percent increase. The LIRA is measured each quarter, and it gauges U.S. homeowner spending on improvements.

"Hopefully, we're finally moving beyond simple volatility in the home improvement spending numbers to a period of sustained growth," says Eric S. Belsky, managing director of the Harvard group that publishes the study.  "The recent upturn we've seen in home sales should translate into more remodeling activity