BUILDER editor Sandra Malm sat down with Nino Sitchinava, principal economist at Houzz, to discuss results from the recently released Houzz Barometer study. “The optimism is quite rosy for 2015,” says Sitchinava. Small firms (with fewer than 5 employees) have recovered from the recession, according to the report. In fact, many are now facing capacity limitations.
Approximately a third of these firms reported hiring in 2014, with larger proportion of firms in all sectors (and of all sizes) bullish on hiring in 2015. “That the recovery has reached the smaller firms is indicative of a next stage in the recovery,” says Sitchinava.
The Q1 2015 Houzz Barometer is consistent with recently released data from the NAHB, which shows significant growth in the custom home building market.