TL;DR
Get home appliances delivered free with Prime
- Fast, free delivery on millions of items
- Prime Video, Amazon Music and more included
- Member-only deals all year
HIRI’s 2026 Home Improvement Insights Summit, held in Minneapolis on Sept. 29-30, examined economic conditions, customer behavior, AI, project spending and sales channels. HIRI forecast that the home improvement products market would grow 2.5% in current dollars in 2026, but shrink 1.5% after inflation.
The Home Improvement Research Institute’s 2026 Home Improvement Insights Summit brought industry leaders to Minneapolis on Sept. 29-30 to discuss economic pressures, customer behavior, artificial intelligence and market forecasts. HIRI projected the home improvement products market would grow 2.5% in current dollars in 2026, while contracting 1.5% after inflation—a difference that points to the pressure rising prices can place on real market activity.
The two-day program was organized around five topics: macroeconomics, the customer journey, data and market research, project spending and sales channels. Presenters discussed how inflation, housing affordability, buyer finances and changing consumer habits are shaping demand. The sessions drew on research from HIRI and other industry organizations, according to a recap published by Hardware Retailing.
Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, the National Association of Home Builders’ assistant vice president for forecasting and analysis, addressed the effects of inflation and other economic factors on homebuilding and homebuying. She cited a rise in the median age of a first-time homebuyer to 40, compared with 29 in 1981. HIRI’s Dave King, OpenBrand chief economist Ralph McLaughlin and S&P Global director Michael Zdinak also discussed affordability, mortgage rates and income among factors affecting buyers.
Sessions on purchasing decisions examined the role of contractors and AI in recommendations and preferences. Grant Farnsworth, president of The Farnsworth Group, presented results from the Q2 2026 Quarterly Contractor Business Sentiment Tracker and the Farnsworth Contractor Index for Q3 2026. The report put contractors’ confidence in securing business over the next six months at 8.2 out of 10 on the index. The summit recap did not provide the index’s comparison with earlier periods.
Liza Hausman, senior vice president of marketing at Houzz, shared findings from Houzz’s 2026 research: 22% of homeowners use AI for renovation, and households that use AI account for 25% of renovation dollars. These figures describe different measures—homeowner use and the share of renovation spending—and do not, by themselves, establish that AI use caused higher spending.
Inflation Changes the Market Picture
The gap between the current-dollar growth forecast and the expected decline after inflation helps retailers, manufacturers and contractors distinguish nominal sales from purchasing power. HIRI’s figures point to a market that may expand in dollar terms while losing ground in real terms. That distinction matters when businesses set sales expectations, plan inventory or evaluate whether customer demand is keeping pace with costs.
The summit’s AI findings also offer an early signal about how renovation research and decision-making may be changing. Houzz’s reported 22% homeowner usage figure suggests AI is part of some customers’ renovation process, while the 25% spending figure connects AI-using households to a substantial share of renovation dollars. The findings do not establish what tools homeowners used or whether AI influenced project size, product choice or spending.
For contractors, the 8.2 index reading provides a snapshot of confidence about near-term business prospects. It is a measure of sentiment, not a count of confirmed projects. Read alongside affordability concerns and the broader market forecast, it shows why businesses may need to account for both professional optimism and household financial constraints.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Five Themes Framed the Summit
HIRI’s annual Home Improvement Insights Summit is a forum for industry professionals to review research and discuss market conditions. The 2026 meeting focused on the economy, customers, research, project spending and channels, combining forecasts with presentations on household and contractor behavior.
Several speakers brought research from their own organizations. The summit recap identifies work from NAHB, OpenBrand, S&P Global, The Farnsworth Group and Houzz, as well as HIRI’s Q3 Size of the Home Improvement Products Market Report and Forecast. Those sources cover distinct questions: housing and affordability, contractor confidence, renovation behavior and the size of the products market. They should not be treated as one unified survey or forecast.
Kevin O’Connor, host of This Old House, spoke about maintaining the brand’s relevance. The recap attributed to him an emphasis on earning trust through education, avoiding mistakes and not appearing transactional. HIRI president Dave King closed with a message to manufacturers: reduce uncertainty for customers in the coming quarter.
“Take uncertainty out of the customer’s decision in the coming quarter.”
— Dave King, HIRI
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Limits of the Reported Findings
The summit recap does not provide the underlying methodology, sample sizes or full data tables for the Houzz AI findings, the contractor index or the market forecast. It is not clear how AI use was defined, when homeowners were surveyed, or whether the spending share reflects project costs, number of projects or another measure.
The report also does not give a prior-period comparison for the contractor confidence score, so the 8.2 out of 10 cannot be described as a rise or fall based on the material provided. HIRI’s market figures are forecasts rather than final results; actual growth may differ. The recap does not specify the assumptions behind its inflation-adjusted projection or offer more detail on the expected performance of individual product categories and channels.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Forecasts Point Toward 2027
The summit’s immediate focus was the coming quarter, with King urging manufacturers to reduce uncertainty in customer decisions. Businesses will be watching whether affordability, household income and inflation change project plans, and whether contractor confidence translates into booked work. HIRI’s forecast also sets a benchmark against which later market results can be compared.
The recap does not announce a new HIRI study release date or a specific follow-up milestone. Further detail on the forecast, survey methods and AI measures would be needed to judge how broadly the findings apply. For now, the summit’s message is that manufacturers and retailers are planning against a market expected to grow in nominal dollars but decline after inflation, while customer and contractor behavior continues to shift.
home improvement project management tools
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
Key Questions
What happened at HIRI’s 2026 summit?
The Home Improvement Research Institute held its Home Improvement Insights Summit in Minneapolis on Sept. 29-30, 2026. Sessions covered economic conditions, customer behavior, AI, market research, project spending and sales channels.
What did HIRI forecast for the home improvement market?
HIRI forecast that the home improvement products market would grow 2.5% in current dollars in 2026 and shrink 1.5% after inflation. These are forecasts, not final reported results.
How many homeowners use AI for renovation, according to the summit recap?
Houzz’s 2026 research, as presented by Liza Hausman, found that 22% of homeowners use AI for renovation. The recap also said households using AI account for 25% of renovation dollars, but did not provide further methodology.
What was the contractor confidence score?
The Farnsworth Contractor Index for Q3 2026 put contractors’ confidence in getting business over the next six months at 8.2 out of 10. The recap did not state how that reading compared with an earlier period.
Source: rss
Cold & flu season Picks
humidifiers
As an affiliate, we earn on qualifying purchases.
