The Houzz Renovation Barometer report for the construction sector indicates a softer market, while the report for the architectural and design sector shows improvement in Q1. The Barometer tracks residential renovation market expectations and recent business activity in the construction and architectural design services industries.
Within the construction sector, the first-quarter Expected Business Activity Indicator fell 11 points from Q4 2025 to 55, while the Project Backlog Indicator was 6.1 weeks, 0.3 weeks higher than Q1 2025. The Q4 2025 Recent Business Activity Indicator decreased four points from Q3 to 5.
The Q1 2026 Expected Business Activity Indicator rose two points from Q4 2025 to 61 within the architectural and design sectors. The Project Backlog Indicator was 4.5 weeks at the beginning of Q1, a 2.8-week decline from the year-ago period. The Recent Business Activity Indicator increased 11 points to 54 in Q4 2025 compared to the prior quarter.
The Houzz Renovation Barometer results are determined by an online quarterly survey of U.S. architects and designers with a Houzz account. Scores over 50 indicate that a greater proportion of firms reported quarter-over-quarter increases than those reporting decreases. See Construction Barometer and Architectural and Design Barometer