Learn What Homeowners Want and How Pros Can Deliver

While macroeconomic pressures like high mortgage rates, rising material costs, and labor shortages present challenges, renovation activity remains resilient—driven by aging housing stock, built-up home equity, and homeowners opting to stay put rather than move.

This Houzz Pro webinar highlights the critical friction points throughout the homeowner journey—particularly surrounding trust, financial transparency, project scheduling, and clear communication—and demonstrates how digital management tools and artificial intelligence (AI) streamline operations, satisfy evolving client expectations, and significantly increase firm profitability.

Some key insights and takeaways include:

• Strong pent-up demand and long home tenure: Despite economic headwinds, home renovation activity remains robust; more than half of homeowners renovated (54%) or decorated (52%) their homes. Furthermore, 61% of renovating homeowners plan to remain in their home for at least 11 years, with 44% considering it their "forever home."
  
  
• Generational differences in motivations: Baby Boomers (54%) and Gen Xers (34%) represent the largest share of renovators. Gen Xers are primarily motivated by having the financial means, Boomers/seniors by having the time, while Millennials and Gen Z are mostly driven by customizing a recently purchased property.
  
  
• Pre-construction planning takes twice as long as construction: Homeowners spend an average of 7.5 months in the ideation, planning, budgeting, and hiring phases (Phases I–III), compared to just 3.5 months for actual construction and installation (Phase IV).
  
  
• Trust and communication are the primary friction points: The biggest challenges reported by homeowners during the planning phase are finding a professional they trust (49%), getting detailed estimates (34%), and getting timely communication (28%). During construction, timeline confusion (26%) and communication breakdowns (18%) top the list.
  
  
• Word of mouth and referrals drive revenue: When choosing who to hire, 67% of homeowners rely on reviews and recommendations. Correspondingly, 83% of professionals report that client referrals/word of mouth are their primary revenue drivers, and 75% cite repeat clients as a major contributor.
  
  
• Visualization tools accelerate client sign-offs: 22% of homeowners report struggling because of a lack of visualization tools during project planning. Utilizing 3D floor plans and room-scanning technology helps clients envision end results, building confidence and speeding up decision-making.
  
  
• AI adoption yields substantial time and financial savings: 69% of design and construction pros are familiar with AI, and early adopters save an average of 3.4 hours per week by automating administrative, marketing, and scheduling tasks. This saved time translates to an average annual value gain of $170,000 for construction firms and $74,400 for design firms.
  
  
• Integrated software closes operational gaps: All-in-one platforms like Houzz Pro address client pain points directly through features like AI-assisted detailed estimating, 3D floor planning, auto-generated Gantt chart schedules with dependency tracking, online payment options, and centralized client communication dashboards.
  
  
  Watch the video here