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10. oktober 2018
Home Renovation Market Activity Keeps Pace in Q4, Houzz Barometer Finds
Project backlog at five weeks for construction and architectural and design services sectors


Houzz Inc., the leading platform for home remodeling and design, today released the Q4 2018 Houzz Renovation Barometer, which tracks residential renovation market expectations, project backlogs and recent activity among businesses in the construction sector and the architectural and design services sector. The Barometer points to a strong outlook for the home renovation market in the last quarter of the year.

“Home renovation professionals experienced consistent new business gains and backlogs in the third quarter in both sectors, fueling optimism for the year end,” said Nino Sitchinava, Houzz principal economist. “While market fundamentals, such as high home equity, aging homes, and older homeowners staying in place, drive the demand nationally, southern and western regions continue to be shaped by recent hurricane and wildfire activity. Overall, rising costs of raw materials and persistent skilled labor shortages create headwinds across all regions and industry sectors.”

Construction Sector

  • The Expected Business Activity Indicator related to project inquiries and new projects increased to 79 in Q4 (up six points relative to Q3). The uptick follows from increases in both components, with expectations for project inquiries rising to 79 in Q4 (up eight points), and expectations for new projects increasing to 79 in Q4 (up five points).
  • The Backlog Indicator decreased to 4.5 weeks nationally in Q4 (down 2 weeks relative to Q3). Overall backlog for the construction sector is roughly half a week below year-over-year levels.
  • The Recent Business Activity Indicator related to project inquiries and new projects, increased to 71 in Q3 (up six points relative to Q2). The uptick follows an increase in both recent project inquiry activity, which increased to 73 in Q3 (up ten points), and recent new project activity, which increased to 69 (up one point).

Architectural and Design Services Sector
  • The Expected Business Activity Indicator related to project inquiries and new projects decreased to 64 in Q4 (down five points relative to Q3). Expectations for project inquiries decreased to 63 in Q4 (down five points), and expectations for new projects decreased to 65 in Q4 (down four points).
  • The Backlog Indicator for this sector decreased to 5.1 weeks nationally in Q4 (down 0.5 weeks relative to Q3). Overall backlog for the architectural and design services sector is consistent with year-over-year levels.
  • The Recent Business Activity Indicator related to project inquiries and new projects increased to 60 in Q3 (up three points relative to Q2). The uptick follows an increase in both recent project inquiry activity, which increased to 62 in Q3 (up three points), and recent new project activity, which increased to 58 (up four points).

Notes to Editors
The Houzz Renovation Barometer is based on a quarterly online survey sent to a national U.S. panel of businesses with an online profile on Houzz. The Barometer keeps a pulse on home renovation market conditions via three distinct indices that track expected, current, and recent business activity in two related industry sectors, the construction sector and the architectural and design services sector.

The Expected Business Activity Indicator is based on survey questions that ask businesses to report whether they expect the number of project inquiries and new projects to increase, decrease or stay unchanged in the upcoming quarter relative to the prior quarter. Scores for each component are then computed as a seasonally adjusted diffusion indices on a scale of 0 to 100, with index values over 50 indicating that a greater proportion of firms reported quarter-over-quarter increases than those reporting decreases.

The Recent Business Activity Indicator is based on survey questions that ask businesses to report whether they observed the actual number of project inquiries and new projects increasing, decreasing or staying unchanged in the most recent quarter relative to the prior quarter. Scores for each component are then computed as a seasonally adjusted diffusion indices similar to the Expected Business Activity Indicator. Recent Business Activity Indicator scores can be compared to the Expected Business Activity Indicator scores for any given quarter to see whether actual activity met, exceeded, or fell short of expectations.

Finally, the Backlog Indicator is based on survey questions that ask businesses to report wait times in weeks before a company can start work on a new midsize project. Scores are computed as average wait times without a seasonal adjustment.

All three indices are computed individually for three subsectors in the construction sector (build only remodelers, design and build remodelers, and specialty trade contractors) and for two subsectors in the architectural and design services sector (architects and interior designers), as well as for nine regions that follow U.S. Census Bureau Divisions. The aggregated national indices are computed using industry subsector weights and regional weights derived from the 2016 U.S. Census County Business Patterns survey. Detailed methodology and underlying quarterly indices for the construction sector and the architectural and design services sector, and other information on market conditions can be found on houzz.com/research.

The Q1 2019 Houzz Renovation Barometer release date is January 10, 2019.

About Houzz
Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling 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, buy 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, Tel Aviv and Tokyo. Houzz is a registered trademark of Houzz Inc. worldwide. For more information, visit houzz.com.