Home Show Vendors See Sales in Refinances

After putting the finishing touches on his window displays, John Tallariti turned to look at his floor. The carpet needed a bit of a touch-up.

No problem, he realized. At least one of the 163 vendors at the Puyallup Home and Garden Show should have a spare vacuum -- including the vacuum display three booths down, said a grinning Tallariti, sales manager of the Tacoma-based Coast Home Improvement Inc.

Tallariti and other vendors setting up inside the pavilion at the Puyallup Fairgrounds on Thursday morning were counting on heavy traffic this weekend as homeowners come to look and buy wares to spruce up the kitchen, bathroom, gutters or garden.

Instead of the typical weary group of post-holiday buyers, this home and garden show crowd might be different, vendors said.

Consumers considering Tallariti's windows, for instance, may be relatively flush with cash, as record-low interest rates spurred one of the largest home-refinancing years in 2002.

The refinancing boom offered financial relief for consumers facing an uncertain economy and, in many cases, high credit card debt.

Last year's volume of refinancing meant that roughly $ 80 billion was injected back into the U.S. economy, a bit lower than 2001's $ 84 billion but still a sizable amount of cash, Reuters news service noted Thursday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association estimated that refinancing accounted for $ 1.41 trillion in home loans last year, or about 60 percent of all home loans issued in 2002.

And the momentum shows no signs of slowing.

The association said Thursday that refinancing applications for the week that ended Dec. 27 rose 10.9 percent from the prior week, after adjustments for seasonal factors such as the Christmas holiday.

Freddie Mac, the country's No. 2 home funding company, announced Thursday that 30-year mortgage rates dipped to 5.85 percent, their lowest level since 1965, while 15-year mortgages inched down to 5.24 percent, from 5.32 percent a week ago.

The trend is expected to continue this month, although the refinancing craze may cool off as interest rates rise later in the year as the country's fiscal health improves, economists say.

For now, though, the home improvement industry hopes consumers remain ready to spend on what many consider their most stable investment -- their home.

"We hope they'll be coming in and have an effect on the economy," Tallariti said of consumers with refinancing cash in their bank accounts. "From November on, it's been like a faucet has been shut off. I hope they'll look around. And spend money."

So does Dave Haaheim, who was busy setting up his tile-cutting exhibit at the fairgrounds.

"Yeah, I hope they show up with a little bit of money," said Haaheim, who travels across the country showing his "Amazing Glass and Tile Cutter" display.

Dave Blankenship, site manager of Weir's Appliance on Portland Avenue, said he had intended to exhibit at the show even if the refinancing craze had slowed.

"We'd be here regardless of the economy," Blankenship said as he surveyed a row of appliances. "This gives us a chance to show people what we have to offer."

Jim Kelley, operations manager for the Northwest division of "Gutter Helmet," hopes that consumers will be in the mood to buy again -- after a slow November and December. The dreary weather has been a help for his particular product, as well as any money from refinancing, he added.

"Now that it's raining all the time, people are realizing they have gutters to clean," he said.

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