Activity Strong Although Project Backlogs Persist, Survey Finds
PALO ALTO, CA — Businesses in the residential construction and remodeling sectors anticipate “strong activity” through the balance of 2021, although many companies report steady increases in backlogs since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with wait times of nearly three months before new projects can begin.
That is the key finding of the Q4 2021 Houzz Renovation Barometer, a quarterly gauge that tracks market expectations, project backlogs and recent activity among U.S businesses in the construction and architectural/design services sectors. Results of the survey were released this week by Houzz Inc., the Palo Alto, CA-based online platform for home remodeling and design. The survey was fielded Sept. 28 through Oct. 8th, the company added.
“Confidence prevails across the industry through year-end, despite the ‘Expected Business Activity Indicator’ dipping slightly compared with the very high level posted last quarter,” said Marine Sargsyan, Houzz senior economist.
“We’ve seen some settling of home renovation and design activity following record high performance earlier in the year,” Sargsyan observed. “Yet many businesses are struggling to catch up with heightened demand as they navigate supply chain challenges and labor availability, leading to record-long backlogs.”
More than half of surveyed firms in both the construction and architectural and design services sectors report challenges with product and material shortages and increased costs as of the beginning of Q4, Houzz said.
While only half of businesses anticipated heightened costs for raw materials – such as lumber, copper, steel, plastic, and aluminum – more than two-thirds reported that these materials actually increased in cost over the past quarter. More than nine in 10 construction businesses reported moderate to severe skilled labor shortages, Houzz added.
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Schock to Open First U.S. Factory
MARTINVILLE, VA — SCHOCK GmbH, the global supplier of quartz composite kitchen sinks, will establish its first U.S. manufacturing presence with the construction of a factory in Martinsville, VA, the company announced.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be embarking on this expansion,” said Ralf Boberg, CEO of the Regen, Germany-based company. “SCHOCK’s new facility in Virginia represents a bold, special new step for our company. While our sink products have been available worldwide for years, this is our first manufacturing plant outside of Germany.
“Adding manufacturing in the U.S. will allow us to serve one of our strongest growth markets and meet demand stateside, Boberg added.
The facility will manufacture quartz composite sinks, a category the company pioneered in 1979, SCHOCK officials added.
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SEN Design Group Expands Educational Access
CHARLOTTE, NC — SEN Design Group, the Charlotte, NC-based kitchen and bath industry buying group and business education resource, has revamped its membership structure to increase access to business education opportunities for industry professionals, the organization announced.
“Under our previous structure, the majority of our educational opportunities were add-on expenses for our members, but we wanted to make sure our members had access to as much educational content as they wanted without added expense, so we have updated our membership structure to provide this much-needed resource at a minimal monthly investment,” said Catherine Daugherty, director of membership at SEN Design Group.
SEN Design Group will now offer three tiers of membership with differing benefits based on the member’s specific needs:
n Associate Membership includes basic access to industry-specific business and sales education opportunities; this level is targeted for industry firms and independent designers who may not want to participate in a buying group or attend semi-annual conferences.
n Signature U Membership includes increased access to industry-specific business and sales education opportunities, as well as access to SEN Design Group’s purchasing power and networking community.
n Executive U Membership ($399 per month) includes everything in the Signature U Membership with additional benefits for industry leaders, such as dealer roundtables, a business development manual, personal profiling assessments for better hiring and communication, maximum quarterly rebates, and more.
Additional details are available at www.sendesigngroup.com.
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