Company News
The majority of home renovation and design businesses in the Houzz Australia community anticipate widespread revenue and profit growth in 2016 (70% and 64%, respectively), according to the 2016 Houzz Australia State of the Industry study.
The report from Houzz Inc., the leading platform for home renovation and design, provides a review of 2015 and an outlook for 2016 for residential renovation and design businesses, based on data reported by over 400 Australian-based professionals in the Houzz community.
Revenue growth expectations vary slightly by industry group. Growth is expected among 74% of decor businesses, 68% of architecture and design companies, 68% of building/contractor companies, and 72% for all other groups. Across the board, more than half of businesses in the Houzz Australia community expect revenue to grow 10% or more (51%).
To accomplish their projected growth for 2016, businesses plan to increase marketing/sales efforts (63%), bring in larger budget projects (42%), offer new products/services (40%) and improve customer experience (40%). Furthermore, over a quarter of professionals in the Houzz Australia community plan to increase their headcount in 2016 (26%).
“With a community of more than 1.5 million unique monthly users and more than 32,000 active home professionals, Houzz Australia has unprecedented insights into the health of the home renovation and decorating industry around the globe,” said Nino Sitchinava, principal economist for Houzz. “Our research indicates healthy growth in 2015 among architecture, design, renovation, decor, and other small home-related businesses in the Houzz Australia community, and a positive outlook for 2016.”
2015 in Review
2015 was a year of revenue growth for almost two-thirds of residential renovation and design companies in the Houzz Australia community (64%) while 56% reported an increase in profits. Over two-thirds of companies in the Houzz Australia community reported that revenues met or exceeded expectations in 2015 (69%). Revenue and profit growth was reported among 69 and 58% of architecture and design businesses, 68 and 62% of decor companies, 55 and 46% of builders/contractors, and 61 and 54% for all other groups.
While revenue and profit increased in 2015, the cost of doing business also went up, according to 61% of respondents, driven by employee wages (47%), product/materials costs (45%), and marketing costs (34%). Many firms also hired employees to keep up with growth (27%), with only 10% of firms decreasing staff size.
Top challenges facing businesses in 2015 included managing consumers’ concerns around cost (41%), difficulty finding prospective customers (29%), increased cost of doing business (28%) and managing consumers’ expectations (25%).
Among businesses in the Houzz Australia community, 37% have no employees other than owners or partners, and another 42% have between one and four employees. Across businesses of all sizes, around two-thirds plan to expand and grow in the next five years (65%). 68% of businesses in the Houzz Australia community have been in existence for five or more years.
The full 2016 Houzz Australia State of the Industry report can be found here.
The Houzz Australia State of the Industry Study was conducted among home renovation firms in the Houzz Australia community that offer services related primarily to residential renovation and/or design. The study was fielded January-February 2016. N=407
About Houzz
Houzz is the leading platform for home renovation and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish – online or from a mobile device. From decorating a small room to building a custom home and everything in between, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community empowered by technology, Houzz is the easiest way for people to find inspiration, get advice, find products, and hire the professionals they need to help turn their ideas into reality. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., Houzz also has international offices in London, Berlin, Sydney, Moscow and Tokyo. Houzz and the Houzz logo are registered trademarks of Houzz Inc. worldwide. For more information, visit houzz.com.au.
There are more than 1 million active home renovation and design professionals on Houzz, including architects, interior designers, home builders and landscape designers.