The Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) expects the home improvement market to continue a recent pattern of growth in 2019 across all sectors. HIRI estimates home improvement product sales will increase 5.5% in 2019 to $420 billion, the professional market will increase 6.0% year over year, and the consumer market will see sales increase by 5.3%.
While home improvement product sales are estimated to increase in 2019, the 5.5% growth is smaller than the 6.2% boost experienced in 2018. HIRI estimates home improvement product sales will begin to slow slightly over the next several years, averaging 4.0% growth in 2020 through 2023. The professional market is expected to remain relatively strong, with an average growth of 2.0 percentage points through 2023.
HIRI expects labor markets will tighten nationwide in the coming years, estimating the unemployment rate will reach a low of 3.6% during the spring. HIRI expects the unemployment rate to rise at the end of 2020. The research institute believes the fundamentals for the U.S. economy will "remain sound," allowing for the growth projected in the home-improvement-product, professional, and consumer markets.
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