Residential remodeling firms report widespread confidence in quarter-over-quarter market gains, according to the Q2 2016 Houzz Renovation Barometer released this week. The Barometer tracks confidence in the home renovation market among industry professionals including architects, designers, general contractors (GCs)/remodelers, design-build firms, building/renovation specialists and landscaping/outdoor specialists.
While Barometer readings remain strong among the six industry groups surveyed, scores decreased slightly for five of the six, relative to Q1 2016. As shown in the chart above, there has been a four quarter decline in confidence of design-related firms, including architects and designers – Q2 2016 scores of 66-73 are down from Q2 2015 scores of 75-80. This also shows the widening gap between design-related firms and other sectors.
Across the board, half or more firms report an uptick in Gen Xer activity so far this year, when compared to the same time period of 2015. Similarly, projects for Baby Boomers also increased by a third or more during the same timeframe. Unsurprisingly, slightly fewer saw an increase in activity from Millennials.
Many firms have also seen an increase in specialized projects. While landscape/outdoor specialists and GCs/remodelers are most likely to have seen increased activity in relation to smart home projects, architects and design-build firms are most likely to report an increase in aging-in-place projects. Landscape/outdoor specialists are nearly twice as likely to have seen an uptick in green projects than all other industry groups.
For more information from the Q1 2016 Houzz Renovation Barometer, see the full report. This includes additional findings among architects, interior designers, general contractors, design-build firms and more.