Företagsnytt
Houzz Inc., the leading platform for home remodeling and design, today released the Q1 2016 Houzz Renovation Barometer, which tracks confidence in the home renovation market among industry professionals. The Q1 2016 Barometer readings reflect strong quarter-over-quarter confidence for all industry groups, with readings of 68* or higher, indicating a seasonal uptick in market activity. The readings for Q1 2016 are in line with scores for the same quarter in 2015, with the exception of architects and outdoor specialty firms that report somewhat weaker confidence scores in Q1 2016. All industry groups report a rosy outlook for the second quarter of the year.
Labor continues to pose a top challenge for renovation-focused firms, with nearly four in five general contractors, remodelers and design-build firms reporting moderate-to-severe shortages across a wide range of skilled trades, consistent with 2015 Barometer findings. Three in four firms reporting shortages are hiring employees or subcontractors in those in-demand trades. In order to attract young workers, 39 percent of remodeling-focused companies are offering on-the-job training. Another 21 percent are leveraging social media to help promote job opportunities to new talent. Some firms are taking more extensive measures, such as partnering with local colleges to offer training programs, attending recruiting events and/or giving talks at local colleges and/or high schools to reach potential future hires (8, 8, 6 and 6 percent, respectively).
“While Barometer readings continue to reflect year-over-year market improvements across industry groups, these gains are somewhat less widespread than those we saw in the same period of 2015,” said Nino Sitchinava, principal economist at Houzz. “Consistent with our projections in the Houzz State of the Industry report at the beginning of the year, we are seeing early evidence that 2016 will be a year of more moderate yet steady growth for residential renovation and design businesses.”
Additional findings from the Q1 2016 Houzz Barometer include:
The full Q1 2016 Houzz Renovation Barometer can be found here.
There are more than 1 million active home remodeling and design professionals on Houzz, including architects, interior designers, general contractors and design-build firms.
Notes to Editors
The Houzz Renovation Barometer study is conducted quarterly and presents analysis of responses to an online survey sent out to a national U.S. panel of architects, interior designers, general contractors/remodelers, design-build firms, and building/renovation and landscape/outdoor specialties. The greater the index value relative to 50, the greater the proportion of firms reporting increases in quarterly business activity than those reporting decreases. N=3,316.
*The greater the index value relative to 50, the greater the proportion of firms reporting increases in quarterly business activity than those reporting decreases.
The next Houzz Renovation Barometer release date is July 20, 2016.
About Houzz
Houzz is the leading platform for home renovation and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish – online or from a mobile device. From decorating a small room to building a custom home and everything in between, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community empowered by technology, Houzz is the easiest way for people to find inspiration, get advice, find products and hire the professionals they need to help turn their ideas into reality. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., Houzz also has international offices in London, Berlin, Sydney, Moscow and Tokyo. Houzz and the Houzz logo are registered trademarks of Houzz Inc. worldwide. For more information, visit houzz.com.