Survey Results Imply Strong Post-COVID-19 Home Improvement Market

For the many building construction professionals struggling through the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there appears to be at least light at the end of the horizon – namely, the expectation that many Americans, having been cooped up in their homes for months on end, will undertake home improvement projects to fix issues those things that are now glaring deficiencies.

A recent survey by LightStream would imply that this assumption is correct, with nearly three-quarters of US homeowners planning on undertaking a home improvement project this year. Indeed, according to the survey, more Americans are planning on starting a project than canceling one.

As for the type of project, outdoor improvements were the most popular, with nearly half of respondents desiring that work. This is no surprise to Freedonia Group analysts, who previously noted the surging interest in pools as parents looked for ways to entertain their children – equally cooped up in the home with school-from-home a new reality. Other projects of interest to homeowners include:

• general home repairs
• painting (a quick impact project seen as a doable DIY project for most people)
• bathrooms (with everyone home during the day, adding or expanding a bathroom suddenly makes more sense!)
• kitchen remodeling (with more Americans eating at home, people suddenly realized how they could make their kitchens more functional and attractive)

For more information and discussion of opportunities, see The Freedonia Group’s extensive collection of off-the-shelf research, particularly in the Construction and Building Products area and Global E-Commerce. Freedonia also offers an expanding catalog of COVID-19 Economic Impact reports, which highlight how various industries are responding to the current crisis with a comparison to recent recessions. Freedonia Custom Research is also available for questions requiring tailored market intelligence.