Home improvement professionals’ spirits are high in terms of expected revenue growth in 2014, according to the Houzz inaugural Residential Design & Renovation Outlook report. Conducted in February, the report drew 6,680 respondents and showed 90 percent of North American home builders, architects, remodelers, landscape professionals and interior designers expect revenue to grow in 2014.
The majority of professionals reported having solid revenue growth from 2012 to 2013, too, and landscape professionals reported the highest growth, with 74 percent saying so.
“These findings are consistent with other leading industry indicators forecasting healthy growth for our industry,” said Liza Hausman, VP of community for Houzz. “People are more confident about putting money into their homes, and feedback from our professional community shows that’s translating into more business for home pros around the country.”
Additional findings include that, on average, 69 percent of professionals said they have taken on more diverse projects over the past two years. This number was higher for landscape architects, designers and contractors, with 72 percent saying they have diversified their projects.
Irrespective of company size, the majority of professionals (64 percent) reported the overall cost of their projects increased in 2013 compared to 2012. More landscape professionals (67 percent) and contractors (66 percent) said project size was larger compared to 2012 than other professional types.
The report also showed the larger the firm, the more likely it was to have grown revenue in 2013. Eighty percent of firms with more than six employees reported revenue growth versus 2012 compared to 72 percent of firms with two to five employees and 64 percent of sole proprietors. More than half (58 percent) of professionals surveyed said their business performed better than expected in 2013.
The full report is downloadable from the Houzz website.
