2026Q3 U.S. Houzz Pro Industry Barometer: Architectural & Design
Findings from the Q3 2026 Houzz Pro Industry Barometer, which tracks residential renovation market expectations, project backlogs and recent activity among businesses in the architectural and design services sector.
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The Project Backlog Indicator is 4.7 weeks nationally at the start of Q3 2026 (compared with 5.9 weeks in Q3 2025): This represents a decline of 1.2 weeks year over year, pointing to shorter pipelines across the sector. Wait times for architects decreased to 5.1 weeks (compared with 6.7 weeks in Q3 2025), a 1.6-week reduction. Similarly, interior designers report a decline to 3.9 weeks (down from 4.4 weeks in Q3 2025), a 0.5-week decrease. Notably, backlog levels have diverged across both groups, with architects now reporting a longer wait time than interior designers (5.1 vs. 3.9 weeks).
The Recent Business Activity Indicator related to project inquiries and new committed projects increased to 62 in Q2 2026 (compared with 48 in Q1 2026): This increase is driven by a significant rise in project inquiries, which rose 17 points to 62 (from 45), while new committed projects increased 11 points to 63 (compared with 52 in Q1 2026). Both components moved firmly in the same direction this quarter, pointing to a broad-based optimism in near-term demand and conversion alike. Trends diverge somewhat across pro types, though both moved higher. Architects report an indicator of 67 in Q2 2026 (compared with 45 in Q1 2026), with project inquiries jumping to 68 (from 41) and new committed projects rising to 66 (from 50). Interior designers also report gains, with an indicator of 55 (compared with 53 in Q1 2026), reflecting an increase in project inquiries to 52 (from 51) and new committed projects to 58 (from 55). Overall, with recent business activity climbing well above the 50-point threshold at the national level—indicating that far more firms report improvements than declines—with architects posting a sharp rebound while interior designers saw more modest, steady gains.
The Q3 2026 U.S. Houzz Renovation Barometer was fielded from July 2 through July 8, 2026 and garnered responses from 180 architects and 343 interior designers on Houzz (n=523 in the architectural and design services sector).
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The Expected Business Activity Indicator related to project inquiries and new committed projects increased by 8 points to 68 in Q3 2026 (compared with 60 in Q2 2026), reflecting gains in both components: Project inquiries rose 7 points to 67 (up from 60), while new committed projects increased 8 points to 69 (compared with 61 in Q2 2026), indicating a widespread improvements in forward-looking activity. Trends diverge across pro types. Architects saw a sharp increase of 13 points to 71 (compared with 58 in Q2 2026), supported by gains in both project inquiries (71, up from 58) and new committed projects (72, up from 58). In contrast, interior designers declined 2 points to 63 (compared with 65 in Q2 2026), with project inquiries decreasing to 61 (from 64 in Q2 2026) and new committed projects slipping slightly to 64 (from 65 in Q2 2026). Overall, with the index well above the 50-point threshold—indicating that more firms expect improving business activity—momentum has strengthened broadly this quarter, with the biggest gains concentrated among architects while interior designers report a more modest pullback from an already strong prior quarter.