Ewa Beach resident Alan Itsuno stopped by the Building Industry Association Hawaii Home Building and Remodeling Show at the Neal Blaisdell Center exhibition hall yesterday to get some ideas for improvements he wants to make to his house.

He is moving forward despite the slowing economy.

“;If you don't do anything, it's going to get worse,”; he said.

Karen Nakamura, executive vice president of the Building Industry Association Hawaii, said remodeling is a hot area right now, despite the economy, because home values have remained relatively high and homeowners are able to tap equity to pay for remodeling projects.

Nakamura said the “;lowest interest rate ever”; is also spurring remodeling projects. Residents can get 30-year mortgages for 4.25 to 4.5 percent, she said.

Greg Theilen, president of Complete Construction Services, said there are fewer visitors this year at the trade show, but he is getting better-quality leads.

He does not see any slowdown in his business for the next six months.

“;We're swamped,”; he said. “;We are very, very busy.”;

But there are signs the economy is slowing.

Architect Hale Takazawa says there is not a lot of work for architects these days. And if architects are not designing projects, that means business will slow down for contractors in three to six months.

“;For the short term, I don't see it on the horizon. We're looking for projects and they're not there,”; he said.

His company, Pacific Atelier, normally works on commercial developments. But since that business has slowed, it has opened a new branch , called 1155 Fort Street, that caters to people looking to build their own homes.

“;The whole town is slow unless you do government work,”; he said.

Nakamura said while commercial residential development has slowed, contractors are finding jobs building and maintaining military housing, thanks to $600 million in federal money secured by U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.

Many Madeira, owner of West Coast Roofing Inc., agreed that the military housing market is good.

Madeira was not an exhibitor this year. He attended the show looking for ideas for his next home and said the economy is not delaying his plans.

“;We're still busy in the roofing industry,”; he said, although he has noticed a lot of carpenters are out of work.

While the commercial residential business roofing is down, he said he has been able to secure federal contracts with the military.

Nakamura said federal and state stimulus money to spur construction and remodeling is key to keeping architects, engineers and construction workers employed.

She said the rail transit project will also create jobs for a long time and “;give us a base for our industry.”;