UPDATE 2-Home Depot beats sales estimates as home improvement spending holds strong

(Adds details on results, background on home improvement market)

Nov 16 (Reuters) – Home Depot Inc beat quarterly sales estimates by nearly $2 billion on Tuesday as Americans, buoyed by a strong housing market, hired more builders and handymen to complete large home improvement projects, boosting demand for tools and materials.

Professional contractors have been rushing back to Home Depot’s stores as they look to upgrade their toolkits and source building materials to complete a backlog of home improvement and repair jobs that were put on hold during the health crisis.

Rising home prices in the United States has also given people confidence to invest in upgrade jobs for their homes, while more millenials moving to suburban areas during the pandemic has expanded the core customer base of retailers like Home Depot.

Same-store sales rose 6.1% in the third quarter ended Oct. 31, beating analysts’ estimates of a 1.4% increase, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Home Depot said the average price paid per transaction rose nearly 13% in the quarter, boosted by more big-ticket purchases from builders. However, total transactions fell 5.5% as fewer do-it-yourself customers made purchases compared to last year when the pandemic sparked a surge in amateur home improvement projects.

Overall net sales rose nearly 10% to $36.82 billion, beating estimates of $35.01 billion. The company’s net earnings rose 20.3% to $4.13 billion, or $3.92 on a per share basis. (Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)