Growing numbers of people in both the UK and US are spending money on improving their homes.
In the United States, home renovation activity and spending are reported to have climbed to their highest levels since 2018, while half of Brits are busy improving their properties meaning demand for tradespeople is high.
The 11th Houzz & Home survey, which is carried out every year, quizzed almost 70,000 Americans, finding that 55 percent made home improvements in 2021. This is higher than in 2020 when 53 percent renovated their properties and in 2019 and 2018 when the figure was 54 percent.
The amount of money spent on home improvements in the United States had gone up significantly too. The average spend on renovations in 2021 was $18,000, up 20 percent from the previous year.
And those homeowners who had taken on higher budget projects were also spending more with their typical investment standing at $100,000 in 2021, up from $85,000 in 2020.
The survey found that the appetite for home improvements remained high this year too with 55 percent of homeowners saying they had plans to renovate. And 46 percent of those polled planned to decorate their properties.
Marine Sargsyan, the staff economist for Houzz, said: “Homeowners are clearly committed to investing in their homes despite heightened product and material costs driven by supply chain disruptions and are exploring diverse funding sources.”
Demand for tradespeople rises
Over in the UK, the desire to make home improvements has also remained strong with 49 percent of residents carrying out work on their property during 2021. Demand for tradespeople last year had increased by 32 percent from the previous year, according to the 2022 Rated People Home Improvement Trends Report.
But while high numbers of homeowners may be wanting to improve their homes, there have been plenty of challenges to overcome. These difficulties have included supply issues with products and materials, increases in costs and shortages of skilled workers as a result of both the Covid pandemic and Brexit.
Almost 90 percent of tradespeople found that their costs had gone up during 2021 and 84 percent reported problems with the supply of materials. The report also found that 44 percent of tradespeople in the UK were negatively impacted by workforce shortages.
AP+ works with companies in the furniture and homeware industry, helping them overcome issues caused by disruptions in the supply chain. We provide third-party logistics (3PL) services including warehouse space to store stock, which is ideal for companies who do not have their own storage and distribution services and want to avoid long delays in fulfilling orders.
Supply chain issues are expected to continue for the rest of 2022, meaning demand for companies like AP+ remain high. Our team pick and pack orders on behalf of our clients, making sure they are sent directly to the end customers in a timely and cost-effective way.
Find out more about the services AP+ offer by talking to a member of the team today.
