Industry Research
Renovation Barometer
2023Q1 Houzz Renovation Barometer - Architectural & Design Sector
Findings from the Q1 2023 Houzz Renovation Barometer, which tracks residential renovation market expectations, project backlogs and recent activity among businesses in the architectural and design services sector.
The Expected Business Activity Indicator related to project inquiries and new committed projects decreased to 48 for Q1 (compared with 56 for Q4, 2022): This decrease in expectations is driven by a 15-point decrease in new projects to 47 (compared with 62 in Q4). Expectations for new project inquiries, however, stayed put at 49 in Q1. Among the two reporting business groups, expectations decreased among architects by 9 points to 43 in Q1 (compared with 52 in Q4, 2022) and by 6 points among interior designers (56 points in Q1 compared with 62 points in Q4, 2022). See additional subsector and regional data.
The Project Backlog Indicator is 5.3 weeks nationally at the start of Q1: The overall backlog for the architectural and design services sector is 2.6 weeks shorter than the same period last year. Among the two reporting business groups, architects’ backlog is at 5.1 weeks (3.6 weeks shorter relative to Q1 2022) and interior designers’ project backlog is at 5.6 weeks (1 week shorter relative to Q1 2022).
Backlogs across all nine regional divisions vary significantly from 3.5 weeks in the West North Central division to 6.7 weeks as reported by architects and interior designers in the Middle Atlantic division. See additional subsector and regional data (PDF).
The Recent Business Activity Indicator related to project inquiries and new committed projects decreased to 43 in Q4, 2022 (compared with 52 in Q3): The overall indicator follows a decline in both components. The recent project inquiries declined to 42 (down 8 points) and the new committed projects declined to 44 in Q4 (down 10 points, relative to Q3). Among the two reporting business groups, architects reported a decline in recent business activity 9 points below the 50 point mark to 41 (down 6 points, relative to Q3) and interior designers reported a 12-point decrease in business activity to 48 in Q4, 2022 (compared with 60 in Q3). See additional subsector and regional data (PDF).
The Q1 2023 U.S. Houzz Renovation Barometer was fielded from December 27, 2022 through January 11, 2023 and garnered responses from 245 architects and 337 interior designers on Houzz (n=582 in the architectural and design services sector). See detailed methodology here.
See Related Stories:
See Related Stories: