Houzz Inc., a leading platform for home remodeling and design, announced a 58% increase in U.S. project leads for home professionals during the month of June, as compared with the same period in 2019. Professionals working on outdoor spaces have seen the greatest increase in demand, with June searches for pool and spa professionals up three-times compared with the same period a year prior.
Noteworthy year-over-year upticks in demand for professionals when comparing June 2020 to June 2019 include:
- Hot tub and spa dealers up 317%
- Pool and spa professionals up 228%
- Pool and spa maintenance pros up 208%
“We’re the busiest we’ve ever been,” says Holly Stickley of Portland, Oregon-based The White Pear, LLC Design and Build, a garden and outdoor living design/build firm. “Three quarters of our design business came from Houzz last year, and we’ve seen a significant increase in project requests this summer, particularly for large scale properties. Our clients are foregoing vacations due to the coronavirus pandemic and investing in making their homes more enjoyable to shelter in place.”
In Portland, home professionals saw a 30% increase in project leads during June, compared to the same period last year. Other metro areas that experienced significant year over year growth in demand for home professionals include Boston (80%), Atlanta (73%), Chicago (72%), Houston (71%) and Miami (54%).
Insights on the types of projects homeowners pursued in June speaks to a need for more usable space both inside and outside of the home. Compared with the same period in 2019, swimming pool design and installation projects more than quadrupled (up 334%), deck, patio and porch project inquiries nearly tripled (up 178%) and home extensions and additions grew by 52%. Homeowners are also seeking more privacy and security with interest in fence installation and repairs up 166%.
“There is an incredible rise in consumer interest for home improvement projects across the country, and people are coming to Houzz to find professionals for major projects like new swimming pools and decks, as well as for more modest outdoor improvements like tree planting and fencing,” says Liza Hausman, vice president of industry marketing at Houzz. “Over the past year we’ve made many significant additions and improvements to how our platform helps homeowners find and connect with the right professional for their project — enabling people to directly schedule video meetings with pros through Houzz Pro is just one example — and we’re really seeing the impact of those investments in the number and quality of connections we’re making.”
Houzz has more than 2.5 million active home renovation and design professionals around the world in more than 65 categories on the platform. Homeowners who are looking to begin a new project can find home professionals through the Houzz Pro directory, browse their projects, ask questions about their work and read client reviews. For home professionals using the Houzz Pro business management and marketing solution, homeowners can view the pros’ availability and book an initial meeting directly.