Improvement

Coronavirus quarantines made Americans want to spend on home improvement

By Jean J. Brown 3 days ago

As Americans sheltered in place this summer, home improvement retailers like Lowe’s Companies (LOW) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) boasted lucrative summer sales. 

Americans splurged on home improvement during the pandemic because they “finally have the time” and are “adapting to a new lifestyle under COVID,” according to a survey of over 1,000 U.S. homeowners from July 7-9 by Porch, a Seattle-based home improvement website. 

“Who amongst us hasn’t sat around their home during this period and thought about how they could make it better? This is almost a universal experience at the moment,” HomeAdvisor and Angie’s List (ANGI) CEO Brandon Ridenour told Yahoo Finance last week.

One California-based service that matches contractors with consumers, Houzz, saw a 58% increase in requests for home professionals in June 2020, compared to June 2019. And private companies have echoed reports of a growing market. 

“Who amongst

… Read More

Home Improvement Spree Props E-commerce Stocks: 5 Picks

By Jean J. Brown 1 week ago

The coronavirus outbreak has swelled the traffic to online shopping platforms with more people at home due to lockdowns. And the demand for home décor has also gone up significantly with people finding the time to refurbish interiors.

Surge in online shopping of home furnishing products has boosted e-commerce businesses, dealing a massive blow to brick-and-mortar retailers.

Online Delivery Caters to DIY Customers

The use of do-it-yourself (DIY) products in home improvement is lower when compared to work outsourced. With excess time in hand along with the availability of free pick-up and delivery options for online purchases, the demand for DIY home improvement products has grown. Per a Bank of America poll, more than 70% of 1.054 Americans said that they have decided to take up home improvement projects, with more planned for 2021.

Home improvement retailer The Home Depot, Inc. HD recently announced plans of opening three distribution centers

… Read More

DIY Trend in Home Improvement & Automation to Soar: 5 Picks

By Jean J. Brown 3 weeks ago

The global urban population is expected to swell by around 2.5 billion by 2050. Urban dwellers have shown a significant inclination to Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects, in both home improvement and home automation. As the coronavirus pandemic have restricted people mostly indoors, they can now invest more time in DIY projects that drives the market.

Stay-at-Home Propels Home Restructuring

The pandemic has forced people to work from home and many companies have suggested employees to continue working remotely even after the coronavirus outbreak. Hence, many are now converting their unfinished basements into a workspace or working on sell my house fast jacksonville DIY home-office projects. This includes expanding space to fit in another computer monitor and making a bookshelf that can fit perfectly into the space available.

Additionally, in the past years, the United States has been witnessed rising adoption of luxury real estate and with the rise in population of

… Read More

Lumber shortages derail home improvement plans during COVID-19

By Jean J. Brown 3 weeks ago
Lumber shortages are derailing some home improvement plans
Lumber shortages are derailing some home improvement plans

The lumber industry has been caught off guard by Canadians’ financial resilience during COVID-19, resulting in shortages that are derailing home improvement plans.

According to data from Statistics Canada, 5.5 million Canadian workers have been affected by shutdowns, either through a drop in employment or COVID-19 related absences. The unemployment rate has gone from 5.6 per cent before the pandemic to 12.3 per cent.

Despite the devastation to the job market, spending on home repairs and renovations fell only 5 per cent in May, compared to January.

“The lumber industry was not expecting this as can be seen by their production,” said Paul Jannke, a principal of Forest Economic Advisors (FEA). “U.S. lumber production was up an average 6 per cent year-over-year per month [from January to March] but dropped 7 per cent year-over-year in April and Canadian production was down 8

… Read More