A recent look at the likelihood of a rebound in spending for home remodeling in 34 major U.S. metropolitan areas gave Chicago a second-tier ranking (that is, one step below “most favorable”). The seven metro areas in the top tier were on the East and West Coasts; Chicago shared the second tier (of five) with Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and four other cities. (Eight metro areas received the lowest, or “least favorable,” ranking.) While Chicago’s older housing and relatively high household incomes boded well for future spending, a big drop in home values from 2009 to 2010 kept the city from the top tier. “With that negative change, [Chicago-area] homeowners aren’t feeling confident about investing in their homes yet,” says Abbe Will, who contributed to the report for Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Read it at jchs.harvard.edu.