INFOGRAPHIC: DIY to Do-it-for-Me Home Improvement

How do homeowners use the products they purchase? The answer sheds light on how they are planning to improve their home — and what they need and want from you.

What projects are top-priority for homeowners in 2019?

The quarterly Project Sentiment Tracking Survey tracks project plans across 32 home improvement project areas. From planned project execution to planned budget, results from 3,000 homeowner responses shed light on motivations and where in the home your potential customers have planned or upcoming projects.

This guide is your single source for home improvement market trends.

How will tariffs and the Tax Act affect your business? 

How will recent tariffs and the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act affect home improvement industry pros and their businesses? For the answers, the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) surveyed nearly 300 panelists across various construction and remodeling trades.

Join the Brightest Minds in Home Improvement This Fall

As a home improvement industry specialist, you crave high-level and granular insights developed by and for category pros. This September, immerse yourself in an intimate, custom-built setting for thought leaders and change makers working within a unique yet massive space.

How Canada’s Economic Outlook Impacts the Home Improvement Products Market

Which home improvement services have the highest demand, and who’s buying them?

In the last decade, it has become increasingly more common to hire professionals for home improvement projects. The Home Improvement Research Institute’s (HIRI) Product Purchase Tracking Study found that today at least 10% more homeowners are using home services than in 2009, resulting in a near-40% increase in the number of services purchased in a year.

Study Highlights

Want valuable DIY and pro insights for your business? Based on data from three proprietary Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) studies, the Trends in DIY and Pro Home Improvement report may be exactly what you need.

Study Highlights

Why are American homeowners planning fewer home improvement projects?

Each quarter, the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) partners with The Farnsworth Group and HomeAdvisor to survey contractors on a rotating list of topics, as well as their industry and business sentiment. The two most recent contractor topic studies covered the effects of tariffs and the tax act in the fourth quarter of 2018 and a construction industry labor shortage in the first quarter of 2019.

Study Highlights

Which products are leading sales in the consumer and professional markets?

Each year, hundreds of home improvement industry experts and professionals gather to network, share research and explore upcoming trends and forecasts at the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) Insights Summit. “HIRI has evolved over the last three to five years with good leadership,” said Diane Walsh, vice president of market development and sales at ShurTech and HIRI president. “This year’s conference promises to be the best yet.”

Content delivered at September’s HIRI Insights Summit will fall under three pillars:

HIRI/IHS Markit forecast expects 5.5% growth in the home improvement products market in 2019 after a strong 6.2% in 2018.

Total home improvement products sales are expected to increase 5.5% in 2018 to $420 billion in total sales. The Professional Market is expected to increase 6.0% in 2019 over 2018 and the Consumer Market will see a sales increase of 5.3%.

It's an Omnichannel World

Thriving omnichannel businesses don’t just sell through multiple sales channels — they create a continuous experience for consumers. From brick-and-mortar stores to online-only storefronts, print media and social media, omnichannel businesses make it easy for customers to find and interact with them and their products.

These Generational Insights Can Boost Your Home Improvement Business

How prevalent is homeownership from generation to generation? Will this be the year millennials close the gap? What are the biggest motivators for home improvement projects? How long do homeowners from different generations think about a project before taking the plunge? These are just some of the generational insights you can glean from the newest Generational Age Group Analysis. This original, proprietary research provides a comprehensive picture of generational attitudes and behaviors, from millennials to matures.

Outdoor Spaces Have Most Planned Home Improvement Projects in Coming Months

It’s only January, yet American homeowners are already gearing up for spring. According to the Q4 2018 Project and Sentiment Tracking Survey, which surveys adults in the United States about their planned home improvement projects, outdoor living spaces will feature the most activity in the next three months. More than one-quarter of homeowners surveyed indicated they will take on lawn and garden and/or landscaping projects during this time.

Which projects do recent homebuyers prioritize?

When it comes to learning about the home improvement projects new homeowners — especially first-time buyers — undertake and the projects completed or planned for newly purchased homes, there’s no better resource than the Home Improvement Research Institute’s (HIRI) Recent Home Buyers Study. Conducted every other year since 2004, the study tracks recent homebuyer behavior regarding home improvement projects.

So, who are these buyers? First-time homebuyers (36 percent of buyers within the past year) tend to buy older, less expensive homes. They are also more likely to be millennial-aged females with lower incomes. Lower incomes translate into less buying power, which translates into more price constraints and offers a valid reason why older homes are often a more realistic option. Not to mention that low credit scores and hefty down payments can also be problematic for first-time buyers.

Learn more about the differences between homebuyers and their motivations, challenges and home improvement plans when you join HIRI. As a member, you’ll have unlimited access to this study and other in-depth, exclusive research, peer-to-peer networking, event registration discounts and more. JOIN NOW

How do home improvement pros decide where to shop?

What drives remodeling, landscaping and other home improvement pros to shop at a home improvement warehouse store versus a specialty distributor? What factors do they consider most critical for strong supplier partnerships?

When does your house start to feel like home? For many, it's not when you put your final signature on the stack of paperwork that never seems to end. Rather, a house starts to feel like home when you put your own personal touches on it. The time spent around this is often filled with a flurry of activities around the house. HIRI’s newly released Recent Home Buyer Study examines those who have purchased a home within the last year and digs deep into what type of work they have done and plan to do to their house.

HIRI/IHS Markit forecast expects 6.3% growth in home improvement products market in 2018 after a strong 7.3% in 2017.