Forecasts on the home improvement market, both short-term and longer term remain very much an imprecise science but design professionals in a new survey are slightly more positive for the immediate future.
The latest research from Houzz, the online home information resource, reveals that slightly more professionals in the design field expect business growth rather than declines in the third quarter of 2023.
Houzz says this follows slowed activity and homeowner postponements or reduced project sizes in the first half of the year. The website’s U.S. Renovation Barometer tracks residential renovation market expectations, project backlogs, and activity in the construction sector and the architectural and design services sector across the country.
“Pent-up demand and macroeconomic conditions, such as aging housing stock and high mortgage rates,” said Marine Sargsyan, staff economist for Houzz, “continue to drive home improvement activity (and) are instilling a sense of optimism among builders, remodelers, architects and interior designers as they look ahead to the second half of the year.”
“We continue to monitor the industry to identify whether improvements to inflation and other economic indicators create more stable pricing for businesses and an environment in which homeowners proceed with their full project scope.” She added that labor shortages and product and material delays are continuing. Houzz said that more firms in the architectural and design services sector reported increases in their business expectations for Q3 than reported decreases, although these forecasts come after subdued expectation levels through the past few consecutive quarters.
