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2021Q1 Houzz Renovation Barometer - Construction Sector
Houzz Research
February 3, 2021
Findings from the Q1 2021 Houzz Renovation Barometer, which tracks residential renovation market expectations, project backlogs and recent activity among businesses in the construction sector.
The Expected Business Activity Indicator related to project inquiries and new committed projects decreased to 70 in Q1 (compared to 73 in Q4 2020): The expectations for project inquiries slightly decreased from 71 to 70 in Q1, while expectations for new committed projects decreased significantly from 75 to 69 in Q1 (down six points). Among the two reporting business groups, expectations were tempered for build-only remodelers at 67 compared to 75, their expectations in the last quarter. Design and build remodelers’s expectations for project inquiries and new projects increased to 73 in Q1. Expectations among firms in the construction sector are still below the levels in the same quarter a year ago. See additional subsector and regional data (PDF).
The Project Backlog Indicator increased to 7.4 weeks nationally at the start of Q1: The overall backlog for the construction sector is two weeks longer than the same period last year. Among the two reporting business groups, backlogs declined among build-only remodelers to 6.8 weeks (down 0.5 weeks relative to Q4 2020) and increased among design and build remodelers to 8 weeks (up 0.9 weeks relative to Q4). Backlogs vary significantly from 5.2 weeks (East South Central division) to 9.2 weeks (East North Central division) across the nine Census divisions. Backlogs in the construction sector are longer than a year ago across all nine Census divisions. See additional subsector and regional data (PDF).
The Recent Business Activity Indicator related to project inquiries and new committed projects decreased significantly to 62 in Q4 (compared to 75 in Q3): This follows decreases in project inquiry activity to 60 in Q3 (compared to 75 in Q3) and new committed projects to 63 (down 12 points relative to Q3). The overall recent activity indicator for the construction services sector was driven by decreases reported by the two business groups. Build-only remodelers reported a significant decrease in the recent business activity to 53 (compared to 71 in Q3), which is lower than the activity reported a year ago. Design and build remodelers also reported a decrease in recent activity to 70 in Q4 (down eight points relative to Q3). See additional subsector and regional data (PDF).
- The Q1 2021 Barometer was fielded from January 7 through January 25 and garnered responses from 229 build-only remodelers and 572 design and build remodelers (n=801 in the construction sector). See detailed methodology here (PDF).
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