Abbe Will

About Abbe Will

Senior research and data analyst specializing in the home remodeling industry. Abbe Will is a Senior Research Associate and Associate Director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University (JCHS). Abbe has over 15 years of experience conducting economic and demographic research and statistical analysis of the US home improvement and repair industry. She manages and contributes research to the Center’s Improving America’s Housing report series and administers the quarterly Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), a short-term projection of national home improvement and repair spending. Abbe’s areas of research within the residential remodeling sector focus on market size and composition; industry structure such as contractor performance, firm dynamics, specialization, and concentration trends; changing household demographics; remodeling market cycles; and emerging market trends including accessibility modifications, energy-efficiency retrofits, and healthy housing. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Home Improvement Research Institute. Abbe’s home improvement research has been featured by Bloomberg, The Boston Globe, CNBC, Marketplace, MarketWatch, The New York Times, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, and Yahoo Finance. Prior to joining JCHS in 2006, Abbe served as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod and Massachusetts Campus Compact. Abbe holds an M.A. in applied economic policy analysis from Northeastern University, and a B.A. in economics from Kalamazoo College.

Experience

1. Senior Research Associate & Associate Director, Remodeling Futures Program

   Harvard Joint Center For Housing Studies

   Jun 2006 — Present · Cambridge, MA, US

   Oversees and manages research activities and membership for the Remodeling Futures project, including developing research agendas on improvement and maintenance of the residential housing sector, conference planning and presentation, and supervision of program research assistants.Manages and conducts economic and demographic research and statistical analysis related to the housing and home improvement and repair industries with expertise in analysis of the American Housing Survey, American Community Survey, and the Economic Census of Construction. Coordinates research staff access and use of internal government databases at the local Federal Statistical Research Data Center.Serves as project manager and contributor of research and writing to the biennial Improving America\'s Housing report series. Developed and administers the quarterly release of the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA), a short-term forecast of trends in national home improvement and repair spending.Serves as a spokesperson for Remodeling Futures with journalists, industry groups, associations, and government agencies requesting information on research, methods, and statistical analysis procedures with research featured in The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Marketplace, The Boston Globe, Yahoo Finance, and MarketWatch. Recent speaking engagements include the National Association of Homebuilders: Remodelers, Home Improvement Research Institute, Forest Economic Advisors, Yale Women in Architecture, and BEYREP.

Education

• FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg

  Study Abroad

  2001 — 2002

• Northeastern University

  MA, Applied Economics

  2005 — 2007

• Kalamazoo College

  BA, Economics

  1999 — 2003