Home Remodeling a Forward Indicator of Housing Bottom?

``Builders who specialize in home remodeling are seeing a better market than they have in years according to the National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) released on Friday. The index rose to 46.5 in the first quarter of the year from 41.5 in the fourth quarter of 2010... "Remodelers report a jump in activity so far this year and have been receiving more calls for work and appointments," said NAHB Remodelers Chairman Bob Peterson. "However, many home owners are still slow to commit to remodeling due to feeling uncertain about the economic recovery and difficulty obtaining loans."''