The uncertainties surrounding the national economy, especially in the home building sector, are turning pros more pessimistic.
The new Q3 U.S. Houzz Renovation Barometer, a key metric for sizing up the overall state of mind of the professional building community, is out and it shows another decline in sentiment, the second consecutive quarter of such thinking.
“Expectations have become increasingly cautious among construction and design professionals as they navigate ongoing economic challenges and reduced business activity,” Houzz staff economist Marine Sargsyan reported. “That said, stable backlogs and gradual adjustments in response to market conditions indicate some resilience. Most are hopeful for improved momentum through the second half of the year.”
The Barometer tracks the residential renovation industry, including expectations, project backlogs and recent activity among businesses in the construction sector and the architectural and design services sector.
Specifically in the construction sector, the business activity outlook decreased with the Expected Business Activity Indicator, related to project inquiries and new committed projects, remaining above the 50-point line in Q3 2025, indicating more firms were reporting higher expectations than those reporting a decrease. Expectations for new committed projects declined but those for project inquiries rose.
Houzz also found that project backlogs are now shorter versus this time a year ago. At the start of Q3 2025, the average backlog across the construction sector was 6.1 weeks nationally, down 1.5 weeks compared with the backlog in the third quarter of 2024, when it was 7.6 weeks. Backlogs varied around the country from highs in New England (8.3 weeks) to lows in the Mountain and West South-Central areas (4.8 weeks).
The Houzz Renovation Barometer is a quarterly online survey sent to a national panel of U.S. businesses with online profiles on Houzz. These results are based on responses from about 1,000 home improvement firms.
