Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Monitoring market trends in consumer sentiment, home improvement rates and construction figures can help you anticipate emerging opportunities for your business. Use the tables below to get a deeper understanding of a few of the forces affecting independent home improvement. Data is not seasonally adjusted, meaning these graphs represent real-time shifts in the market.
- Understand consumers’ desire to save or spend by gauging overall consumer confidence levels.
- Analyze total retail sales for building material and garden equipment centers to track your business’s performance against national averages.
- Serve customers renovating or upgrading homes more effectively by observing housing starts and existing home sales.
Existing Home Sales and Housing Starts as of April 2020:
Existing Home Sales and Housing Starts as of April 2020:
Sources: National Association of Realtors; U.S. Census Bureau
Home Prices on the Rise
“The economic lockdowns–occurring from mid-March through April in most states–have temporarily disrupted home sales,” says Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtors’ chief economist. “But the listings that are on the market are still attracting buyers and boosting home prices.”
Yun says buyers are likely to continue seeing record-low mortgage rates for the rest of 2020.
“Still, more listings and increased home construction will be needed to tame price growth,” he says.
Consumer Confidence and Monthly Retail Sales as of April 2020:
Consumer Confidence and Monthly Retail Sales as of April 2020:
Sources: The Conference Board; U.S. Census Bureau, NAICS 444
Consumer Confidence Drops in April
Consumer confidence fell 26 percent from March to April, even as the percentage of consumers anticipating business conditions would improve rose from 18.7 percent to 40 percent.
“Consumer confidence weakened significantly in April, driven by a severe deterioration in current conditions,” says Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “The uncertainty of the economic effects of COVID-19 will likely cause expectations to fluctuate in the months ahead.”
