The world is always changing. Indeed, it’s arguably changed more in the last 2 years than in the previous 10. But one thing that is always going to remain consistent is the need for doors and windows. They are, after all, what keep our homes and businesses safe and let literal light into our lives. Given that so many of us spent vast portions of 2020 and 2021 indoors, could the door and window market be in for another growth spurt in 2022?
It’s a market that is currently worth an estimated $34 billion in the US alone, with an average growth of around 4% per year. But why is the market soaring and what could the next 12 months look like?
Innovation and execution
There has been much innovation within the sector in recent years with new products coming to market such as folding glass walls. However, the last 18 months have also seen a significant rise in prices, as a shortage of labour and materials catalysed by the pandemic passed costs onto the consumer.
We are living through a period of high demand and low supply, with the cost of lumber, for example, increasing by around 180% from 2020 to 2021. As you would expect, that has resulted in a major increase in house prices in wooden homes. Thankfully, however, in the UK we still deal largely in brick and mortar.
Working from home
The major trend that we all had to adapt to in 2020 was working from home. This meant a major boost in the remodelling sector, as millions of us across the world realised we needed to turn parts of our homes into makeshift offices.
While many of us returned to the office in 2021, with the rise of the Omicron variant bringing COVID back with a vengeance it’s possible that 2022 will see many of us returning to work from home. This means the remodelling market could see further boom periods in the next 12 months as we start to consider the possibility of working from home indefinitely.
Could there be a slowdown?
On the other side of the coin, many industry commentators feel there could be an industry slowdown in 2022, with inflation making homeowners more cautious. The media is full of stories about collapses in consumer confidence and this could worry people that might otherwise be looking into remodelling their homes.
Of course, with travel still a monumental hassle for many and the continuing uncertainty, fewer people are going on big holidays and are instead choosing to spend their extra cash on improving their homes. However, those that would have spent that money probably already did so during the last lockdown (or maybe even the one before that).
Factor in that UK households are not going to be benefiting from the furlough and grants that helped us through the start of the pandemic and it starts to look a little bleak. However, as we stated right at the start of this article, the need for doors and windows is not going anywhere. New homes and business locations are always going to need to be built and they are always going to require access. So, we wouldn’t start panicking just yet.