Home Depot rides steady repair demand as housing market remains subdued

Aug. 18 (Reuters) - Home Depot beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter sales and profit on Tuesday, as strong demand from customers for repair and maintenance helped offset sluggish spending on big-ticket projects such as kitchen renovations.

Stubbornly high interest rates have forced customers to cut back on large home-improvement projects, typically funded by loans, and take up painting, yard upkeep and similar work.

Elevated mortgage rates and rising home prices have also stalled a housing market recovery, hurting demand for bigger projects from homebuilders.

Home Depot offers products across a broad price spectrum, from roughly $5 to upwards of $5,000, with an average basket size of about $90.

Sales increased 5.7% to $47.86 billion in the three months ended August 2, topping expectations of $47.27 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.