After several lean years, the home remodeling industry is seeing an uptick. Thanks to the slowly stabilizing economy, a rise in home sales, and continued low interest rates, homeowners are dipping their toes into home renovation projects.

The National Association of Home Builders says that residential remodeling expenditures for owner-occupied improvements are growing nationally. Spending for 2011 topped $107.4 billion, up 3.5 percent from 2010, and an index of remodeling contractors’ confidence hit its highest level in five years in the last quarter of 2011, according to the NAHB.