October 30,
2015 by in General 
Note: Previously issued 2015 Q2 estimates have been revised.
Source: Impact Consulting Services, Inc. industry model.
The Industry continued its steady growth in the third quarter increasing 5.2 percent over the same quarter last year. Furniture and Bedding sales totaled $23.32 billion in Q3 which was 1.3 percent over the second quarter of this year.
Furniture (excluding Bedding) increased 5.18 percent over 2014 Q3 but was essentially flat over last quarter (2015 Q2). Bedding sales were also up 5.3 percent over Q3 of last year and grew 9.9 percent compared to the previous quarter (2015 Q2).
October 26,
2015 by in General
Can China’s currency devaluation impact the U.S. furniture industry? Although economists differ on how much the impact will be; China hopes to prevent its economy from slowing further by making its exports less expensive. China already dominates 60.8 percent of household furniture imports to the U.S. and cheaper imports could strengthen that hold.
The world totals of both U.S. imports and exports in the household furniture industry have been on the rise since the Great Recession. In 2014 imports totaled $23.8 billion at wholesale or about 74 percent of U.S. furniture and bedding consumption - this compares to 62 percent in 2007.
Imports to the U.S. experienced high growth (53.6 percent) from 2002 to 2007 before plummeting 24.3 percent by 2009. Since 2009, furniture imports increased to 53.1 percent in 2014 – growing an additional 10.9 percent from 2014 Q2 to 2015 Q2 year to date. And while U.S. exports total just a fraction of imports, exports of furniture have been steadily increasing since the peak of the recession in 2009. Up 50.1 percent since dropping 5.9 percent in 2009, the furniture export industry has increased from $1.5 billion in 2002 to $3.5 billion in 2014 – a jump of 141 percent.
Methodology: Household furniture imports and exports are compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division from over 200 countries by product type and material.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade
October 16,
2015 by in General
This is the final factoid in a series of five factoids detailing the Housing Market’s recovery from the Recession and the potential for growth in both the Housing and Furniture Industries.
As the Housing Market took a nosedive during the Recession, Furniture Sales suffered greatly and both industries are working their way back to pre-recession levels. Furniture Sales hit bottom in 2009 – dropping 17.4 percent from 2007. Although growing 18.1 percent from 2009 to 2014, sales are still 2.5 percent shy of 2007 total sales.
Existing Home Sales are back to pre-recession levels – up 1.9 percent from 2007. New Home Sales are taking longer to recover – down 33.4 percent, most likely due to low inventory and cautious homebuilders. As Millennials age out of their late teens and early 20’s (renting years) and pour into their 30’s (home buying years) over the next decade, a need for new homes will grow alongside a need for new furniture.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
October 12,
2015 by in General
This is the fourth factoid in a series of five factoids detailing the Housing Market’s recovery from the Recession and the potential for growth in both the Housing and Furniture Industries.
This factoid shows how the economy, housing bust, and changing demographics have affected the ratio of owner-occupied housing units versus rental-occupied housing units. The increase in rentals since 2007 has shifted the breakdown of housing units by 4.6 points – increasing Rental-Occupied to 36.5 percent of total units and decreasing Owner-Occupied to 63.5 percent in 2015 year-to-date.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
October 2,
2015 by in General
This is the second in a series of five factoids detailing the Housing Market’s recovery from the Recession and the potential for growth in both the Housing and Furniture Industries. As a whole, the Housing Market has made great strides in the last few years to recover from the Great Recession.
While Existing Home Sales were hit hard by the Recession, Housing Starts and New Home Sales both took staggering dives after 2007. New Home Sales plummeted 60 percent from 2007 to 2011. Sales have climbed a yearly average of 13.9 percent since bottoming out– totaling 512,000 in 2015. Although New Home Sales grew 67.3 percent from 2011, they are still 33 percent below the 2007 total of 769,000.
Like New Home Sales, Housing Starts have not caught up to 2007 levels mainly due to lack of inventory and cautious builders. After 2007, Housing Starts began falling 58.7 percent before hitting bottom in 2009. From 2009, Starts have increased 91.5 percent, but are still 20.9 percent below the peak of 2007.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
September 25,
2015 by in General
This is the first in a series of five factoids detailing the Housing Market’s recovery from the Recession and the potential for growth in both the Housing and Furniture Industries. As a whole, the Housing Market has made great strides in the last few years to recover from the Great Recession. While Existing Home Sales have surpassed pre-bust levels, Housing Starts and New Home Sales have made substantial but slower gains.
The bubble burst on Existing Home Sales in 2008 dropping 19 percent from 5 million in 2007 to 4.1 million. Since 2008, the amount of existing homes sold has increased by 25 percent up to 5.1 million in 2015 year-to-date. If the housing market stays on course this year, Existing Home Sales will finally surpass 2007 levels.
Although there has been a lot of fluctuation month to month over the past 3.5 years, purchasing of existing homes has increased 22.5 percent since January 2012. Sales tend to be higher in the summer and jumped 9.6 percent June 2015 from the previous June.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
September 11,
2015 by in Current, General
This is the fifth in a series of six Factoids exploring the future of the Housing Industry. The housing market has picked up steam over the last two years in terms of both existing home sales and new housing starts and a shift in the demographics of available homebuyers should spur more growth in the next 10 to 20 years.
As Millennials age into their home buying years, the question will become, “Will they be able to afford a home?” Housing prices and apartment rental rates have been on a spiraling upward trend in many parts of the country. If rates continue to grow faster than wages, buyers and renters will be facing housing’s ever-growing demand on their incomes which in turn impacts their ability to not only buy furniture, but all consumer goods and services.
This Factoid shows the rising cost of home prices from 2002 to 2014. At the peak of the housing bubble in 2007, the median price of a home was $244,950. With the subsequent housing market crash, the price fell 12 percent to $215,650 at the bottom of the recession in 2009. Since 2009, housing prices have climbed dramatically higher than pre-Great Recession days – up 32 percent in 2014 at $284,825. Median home prices have increased an average of 8.2 percent a year since 2011.
In the next and final factoid of this series, we will take a look at the rising cost of rent for Millennials.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
September 4,
2015 by in General
The housing market has picked up steam over the last two years in terms of both existing home sales and new housing starts and a shift in the demographics of available homebuyers should spur more growth in the next 10 to 20 years.
This Factoid illustrates the growing need for senior housing based on the dramatic increase in the population of seniors from 2000 to projected 2025. Over the span of 25 years, the number of persons ages 65 to 79 is projected to have increased 95 percent. Population projections show ten years from now, Age Group 75 to 79 will grow 62 percent, while Age Group 70 to 74 climbs 47 percent and people in their mid to late 60s will increase by 26 percent.
August 31,
2015 by in General
As the Housing Industry collapsed after 2007, Apartment rentals shot up and continue to rise due to a low inventory of homes as well as the vast amount of Millennials currently in their late teens and early twenties. Apartment rents have increased 20 percent from 2007 to 2015 Q1 with an average yearly growth of 2.3 percent.
With the number of apartment rentals on the rise, the Vacancy Rate has plummeted. Dropping an average of 7% a year since 2009, the Vacancy Rate has decreased a total of 35.8 percent – down to 6.8 in 2015 Q2.
The jump in apartment rentals over the last eight years is in huge part due to the core of Millennials aging into Age Group 20 to 24 (prime renting years).
The amount of early twenty year olds increased from 21.1 million in 2007 to 22.9 million in 2014 – a growth of 9 percent.
August 21,
2015 by in General
This is the second in a series of six Factoids exploring the future of the Housing Industry. The housing market has picked up steam over the last two years in terms of both existing home sales and new housing starts and a shift in the demographics of available homebuyers should spur more growth in the next 10 to 20 years.
This Factoid shows both the age groups of the current Millennial population and what age groups the Millennials will be in 2025. In 2015 the highest population of Millennials falls into Age Group 20 to 24 with 22.7 million people, while Age Group 24 to 29 is only slightly smaller at 22.5 million. Millennials are just starting to age into their home buying years with 21.7 million in Age Group 30 to 34.
Over the next decade, the youngest of the Millennials will be leaving college and entering the rent/housing market and the oldest will be in their early 40s and often upgrading housing. Age Group 30 to 34 (mainly first time home buyers) is projected to increase 12.9 percent - from 21.6 million to 24.5 million, while the population of 25 to 29 year olds (prime renting age) shows a slight growth of 2.8 percent. Ages 35 to 39 and 40 to 44 are expected to increase 15.9 percent and 10.5 percent as the older Millennials age into a traditional period of housing upgrades.