Houzz Study Reveals Home Renovation Professionals Optimistic

Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design, today released the Q1 2015 Houzz Renovation Barometer, which tracks confidence in the home renovation market among industry professionals.

The Q1 2015 Barometer posted strong quarter-over-quarter gains in market confidence for architects, general contractors and design-build firms (11-15 percent) and landscape/outdoor professionals (26 percent), with moderate gains for interior designers and building/renovation specialties (three to six percent). Index scores of 71 or higher were posted across all company types, up from 61 or higher for Q4 2014.

The positive sentiment among industry professionals is fueling continued optimism for Q2 2015.

“The Houzz Renovation Barometer gathers input from a variety of professionals, from the design community, to contractors, to landscape specialists, offering unique insights into the health of the industry on the whole,” said Nino Sitchinava, principal economist at Houzz.

“As we continue into 2015, our community of home remodeling professionals are consistent in their optimism for the growing willingness of homeowners to invest in their homes.”

The high Barometer scores for Q1 2015 reflect that significantly more firms are reporting quarter-over-quarter gains than declines in business activity. Market confidence was bolstered by the positive momentum of Q4 2014, and the seasonal uptick in demand at the end of the winter months. Home renovation professionals across all industry sectors expect this upward trend to continue, reporting high confidence for quarter-over-quarter improvements in Q2 2015 (74 or higher). General contractors and those in landscape/outdoor specialties expressed particular optimism in the future of the market (82 or higher).

Additional findings from the Barometer include:

•Confidence Bolstered by Improvements in All Three Key Activity Indicators: The Barometer posted high quarter-over-quarter scores across market sectors for all three of its components: number of new inquiries (73 or higher), number of new projects (72 or higher) and size of new projects (66 or higher). However, confidence in year-over-year improvement in project size is somewhat weaker than Q4 2014.

•Year-Over-Year Gains Continue: Confidence in the growth of the market persisted in the first quarter of 2015, relative to the same period in 2014. The Barometer posted high year-over-year readings of 73-80, comparable to the year-over-year scores for the previous quarter (74-80).

•Record Winter Impacted Business Activity in the Northeast, But Not Optimism: Weather conditions in Q1 impacted professional confidence in quarter-over-quarter market improvements in the Northeast, as evidenced by lower Barometer readings for this region (63 or higher) relative to other regions (71 or higher). However, optimism among Northeast professionals for Q2 is high, in-line with that of other regions (75+ versus 73+)

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. N=2,313.

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 room to building a custom home, 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 powered by social tools, 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, CA, Houzz also

has international offices in London, Berlin, Sydney, Moscow and Tokyo.

For more information, visitwww.houzz.com

 

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