As countless businesses have suffered during this pandemic, the home remodeling industry has surprisingly soared. Many people are quite content to work from a home environment, as their own house is being remodeled under their own watch. With more time to research, homeowners realize that investing in their own property now will surely pay off sooner than later!
Remodeling Industry During The Pandemic
The remodeling industry has not stopped taking a break during these last 18 months! Folks with extra cash on hand or the ability to acquire some fluidity to renovate their residence all have concluded that the time is now! The BMO Real Financial Progress Index surveyed that over half of homeowners will put more into their homes in 2021 and beyond than they ever intended before the pandemic. The study also indicates that most will use their own excess cash as opposed to loans or credit cards. This is great news for the homeowner and the credible and reliable home remodeling firm that the homeowner chooses!
How Business Owners And Workers Adjusted
Adjusting through these tough times has ended up in an insatiable increase in demand for the remodeling industry! With so many homeowners staying at home, this created a sense of safety, allowing contractors the ability to work side by side with the owner. Workers were in high demand as opportunities arose in the remodeling market.
This increase in demand has made it almost impossible for remodeling firms to keep up with the demand due to a lack of workers in the workforce. With a lower supply of employees, labor is coming at a premium and this has to be passed on to the homeowner to keep remodeling firms solvent.
Related: Designing your Home for your Life
Industry Boom after Pandemic and Challenges
Moving into our last quarter of 2021, the industry boom in remodeling has created numerous challenges. Primarily, finding supplies such as lumber has been increasingly more difficult. Reports stated that lumber which once cost approximately $350 per 1000 board feet skyrocketed to over $1,500 just 13 months later, May 2021. When adding all the math cumulatively in the lumber industry alone, single-family dwellings rose 12%, remodeling jumped 7%, but the mills were only producing at 3.3% more efficiency to keep up with growing demand.
Overall material costs have gone through the roof, as with the labor shortage and increase in wages, the materials employers must also pass their increases on to the builders to keep their business solvent. A recent report indicated that a 200 square foot deck built in 2019 would have cost $3,200 and that same deck would cost over $10,000 to build in 2021. This gives you a true vision of where the increase in costs is coming from; this has been no barrier during the pandemic as plenty of folks have been holding off on remodeling and now know they will be spending more time at home and are ready to do it.
The secondary challenge that the pandemic provided was simply too much business (which is a great thing of course), yet not enough qualified employees to provide the proper service homeowners deserve and aspect. While continual growth is a cherished ideal, ensuring both the customer and the company remain happy and within their comfort zones is paramount. Achieving this during such uncertain times can be difficult for some businesses, we suggest always employing those that have been around for decades and have the reviews to prove their work.