Month: November 2021

‘Best of KBIS’ Awards Open for 2022 Entries

Myrtle Ryan

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ Entries are being accepted through Dec. 1 for the 2022 “Best of KBIS” Awards, an annual awards program that recognizes the most innovative new kitchen and bath products of the year, the National Kitchen & Bath Association announced.

According to the NKBA, owner of the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), products must have been introduced after Feb. 9, 2021 in order to be eligible for consideration. Categories include Kitchen–Gold; Kitchen–Silver; Bath–Gold; Bath–Silver; Connected Home Technology–Gold; Connected Home Technology–Silver; Best in Show, and Impact Award (Judge’s Choice).

The “Best of KBIS” awards ceremony will take place at the KBIS NeXT Stage in the South Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla.

Information can be obtained by visiting the NKBA’s website, www.nkba.org.

 

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‘Strong’ Growth Foreseen for Remodeling Through 2022

Myrtle Ryan

CAMBRIDGE, MA “Strong growth” in home improvement and maintenance expenditures is expected to continue over the coming year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

The LIRA projects year-over-year gains in annual improvement and repair spending will reach 9% in the fourth quarter of this year and maintain that pace into 2022.

“Residential remodeling continues to benefit from a strong housing market with elevated home construction and sales activity and immense house price appreciation in markets across the country,” said Carlos Martín, project director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Cambridge, MA-based Joint Center. “The rapid expansion of owners’ equity is likely to fuel demand for more and larger remodeling projects into next year.”

“With these tailwinds, annual improvement and repair expenditures by homeowners could reach $400 billion by the third quarter of 2022,” added Abbe Will, associate project director of the Remodeling Futures Program. Will warned, however, that “several headwinds,” including the rising costs of labor and building materials, as well as increasing interest rates, “could still taper the expected growth in remodeling spending.”

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Architecture Firms Report Increased Demand for Services

Myrtle Ryan

WASHINGTON, DCArchitecture firms, including those focused in the residential sector, continued to report increasing demand for design services in September, according to a new report issued by the American Institute of Architects.

According to the Washington, DC-based AIA, the association’s monthly “Architecture Billings Index” (ABI) score for September was 56.6, up from August’s score of 55.6. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings from the prior month, the AIA said.

“The ABI scores over the last eight months continue to be among the highest ever seen in the immediate post-recession periods that have been captured throughout the index’s history,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker.

Baker cautioned, however, that it’s “unlikely that revenue increases at architecture firms can sustain this pace.”

“Given that growth in both new design contracts and project inquiries have moderated in recent months, we expect to see a similar path for the ABI,” Baker said.

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Builder Confidence Up, Despite Supply Chain Disruptions

Myrtle Ryan

WASHINGTON, DC Strong consumer demand helped push builder confidence higher in October despite growing affordability challenges stemming from rising material prices and shortages, the National Association of Home Builders reported.

According to the Washington, DC-based NAHB, builder sentiment in the market for newly built single-family homes moved four points higher to 80 in October, according to the latest monthly NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released this week.

The NAHB also reported that single-family housing production held steady in September, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.56 million units, as strong demand helped to offset ongoing building material supply chain disruptions.

“Although demand and home sales remain strong, builders continue to grapple with ongoing supply chain disruptions and labor shortages that are delaying completion times and putting upward pressure on building material and home prices,” said NAHB Chairman Chuck Fowke.

“Builders are getting increasingly concerned about affordability hurdles ahead for most buyers,” added NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz. “Building material price increases and bottlenecks persist, and interest rates are expected to rise in coming months as the Fed begins to taper its purchase of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage-backed debt.

“Policymakers must focus on fixing the broken supply chain,” Dietz observed. “This will spur more construction and help ease upward pressure on home prices.”

 

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Third-Quarter Remodeling Market Index Posts Solid Gain

Myrtle Ryan

WASHINGTON, DC — Demand for remodeling remains strong, and remodelers “are doing quite well as long as they can adequately deal with material and labor shortages,” according to the latest Remodeling Market Index (RMI) compiled by the National Association of Home Builders.

The Washington, DC-based NAHB this week released its NAHB/Royal Building Products Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the third quarter of 2020, posting a reading of 87, up five points from the third quarter of 2020. The finding “is a signal of residential remodelers’ confidence in their markets, for projects of all sizes,” the NAHB said.

“We are seeing strong demand and continued optimism in the residential remodeling market, despite the fact that supply constraints are severe and widespread,” observed NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz, who noted that well over 90% of remodelers in the third-quarter RMI survey reported a shortage of carpenters and 57% reported having slightly raised prices for projects over the last six months, with another 28% indicating a significant increase in price, due in part to higher material costs and ongoing strong demand.

Half of the surveyed remodelers reported “some pricing out of demand” due to higher prices for remodeling projects,” Dietz added.

 

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Activity Strong Although Project Backlogs Persist, Survey Finds

Myrtle Ryan

PALO ALTO, CA — Businesses in the residential construction and remodeling sectors anticipate “strong activity” through the balance of 2021, although many companies report steady increases in backlogs since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with wait times of nearly three months before new projects can begin.

That is the key finding of the Q4 2021 Houzz Renovation Barometer, a quarterly gauge that tracks market expectations, project backlogs and recent activity among U.S businesses in the construction and architectural/design services sectors. Results of the survey were released this week by Houzz Inc., the Palo Alto, CA-based online platform for home remodeling and design. The survey was fielded Sept. 28 through Oct. 8th, the company added.

“Confidence prevails across the industry through year-end, despite the ‘Expected Business Activity Indicator’ dipping slightly compared with the very high level posted last quarter,” said Marine Sargsyan, Houzz senior economist.

“We’ve seen some settling of home renovation and design activity following record high performance earlier in the year,” Sargsyan observed. “Yet many businesses are struggling to catch up with heightened demand as they navigate supply chain challenges and labor availability, leading to record-long backlogs.”

More than half of surveyed firms in both the construction and architectural and design services sectors report challenges with product and material shortages and increased costs as of the beginning of Q4, Houzz said.

While only half of businesses anticipated heightened costs for raw materials – such as lumber, copper, steel, plastic, and aluminum – more than two-thirds reported that these materials actually increased in cost over the past quarter. More than nine in 10 construction businesses reported moderate to severe skilled labor shortages, Houzz added.

 

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Schock to Open First U.S. Factory

Myrtle Ryan

MARTINVILLE, VA — SCHOCK GmbH, the global supplier of quartz composite kitchen sinks, will establish its first U.S. manufacturing presence with the construction of a factory in Martinsville, VA, the company announced.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be embarking on this expansion,” said Ralf Boberg, CEO of the Regen, Germany-based company. “SCHOCK’s new facility in Virginia represents a bold, special new step for our company. While our sink products have been available worldwide for years, this is our first manufacturing plant outside of Germany.

“Adding manufacturing in the U.S. will allow us to serve one of our strongest growth markets and meet demand stateside, Boberg added.

The facility will manufacture quartz composite sinks, a category the company pioneered in 1979, SCHOCK officials added.

 

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