Industry Research
Renovation Barometer
2023Q3 Houzz Renovation Barometer - Construction Sector
Findings from the Q3 2023 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 increased to 54 in Q3 (compared with 51 in Q2): The expectations for both project inquiries and new committed projects increased quarter-over-quarter (from 51 to 54 and from 52 to 53, respectively). These increases are especially prevalent among build-only remodelers reporting an uptick in expectations for Q3 (54 compared with 50 in Q2). Expectations for Q3 remained at 53 among design-build remodelers. See additional sub sector and regional data (PDF).
The Project Backlog Indicator is 13 weeks nationally at the start of Q3: The overall backlog for the construction sector is 2.5 weeks longer than the corresponding period last year (10.5 weeks in Q3, 2022). Among the two reporting business groups, the backlogs are at 14.5 weeks for build-only firms and are at 11.5 weeks among design-build firms. Compared with the same period last year, wait times are longer by 5.7 weeks for build-only while nearly a week shorter (0.8 weeks) among design-build firms.
Geographically, backlogs vary significantly from 7.9 weeks (West South Central division) to 21.8 weeks (New England division) across the nine Census divisions. Compared with the same quarter one year ago, backlogs for the construction sector are longer across eight of nine Census divisions (West South Central 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 Q2 (down 2 points compared with Q1): This follows a decrease in project inquiry to 39 in Q2, (compared with 43 in Q1). New committed projects remained steady at 47. Recent business activity increased to 44 among build-only remodelers in Q2 (compared with 42 in Q1). By contrast, design and build remodelers reported a decrease in recent business activity to 42 in Q2 (compared with 48 in Q1). See additional subsector and regional data (PDF).
The Q3 2023 U.S. Houzz Renovation Barometer was fielded from June 22 through July 1, 2023 and garnered responses from 164 build-only remodelers and 297 design and build remodelers (n=461 in the construction sector). See detailed methodology here.
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