The National Kitchen and Bath Association and John Burns Real Estate Consulting have released the Kitchen and Bath Market Index report for the first quarter of 2019. The new quarterly index examines current and future conditions in the kitchen and bath industry, records issues and challenges, and tracks the sentiments of designers, manufacturers, retailers and building/construction firms in the NKBA.
The kitchen and bath industry composite index currently rates at 71 out of 100, which reflects growth and optimism in the current quarter, overall health, and future market sales. The industry has a positive outlook on the rest of the year as well, with a 76 out of 100 index reading on future conditions compared to a 68 for current conditions.
Fifty-six percent of the industry expects this growth to start in the second quarter, with manufacturers and building/construction companies the most optimistic about business conditions. Labor availability tops the list of industry challenges and concerns, followed by the cost of materials, trade issues, and economic uncertainty.
“As the leading trade association and advocate for the kitchen and bath industry, we continuously invest in research to provide guidance on performance, projections and challenges in the sector for our members and the market. We’re pleased to see that despite a softening in housing, the KBMI indicates positive growth and an optimistic sales outlook in the kitchen and bath sectors,” said Bill Darcy, CEO of NKBA. “John Burns Real Estate Consulting is the preeminent research analysis partner in the housing space and we embarked on this joint venture to provide a reliable and frequent metric of industry performance and business health to our members and the market.”
