The National Kitchen & Bath Association and John Burns Real Estate Consulting released the 2019 second-quarter results of the NKBA/John Burns Kitchen & Bath Market Index (KBMI) report. With a KBMI of 65.7 and scores above 50 indicating growth, the industry remains strong. However, the availability of skilled labor professionals, cost of materials and trade issues remain concerns.

The KBMI is a quarterly report that gauges the economic pulse of the industry. It examines the current demand and future expectations in addition to monitoring input from designers, manufacturers, retailers and building/construction firms.

“As the leading trade association and advocate for the kitchen and bath industry, one of NKBA’s goals is to arm our members with market insights, as well as to raise awareness about impactful industry challenges,” said Bill Darcy, NKBA CEO. “Although NKBA members are still optimistic about current and future kitchen and bath business conditions, there are signs of changes in the marketplace that we are monitoring closely.”

Key Takeaways

  • Future outlook remains positive: The industry is more optimistic about future conditions (69 out of 100 index reading) than about current conditions (63 out of 100 index reading). This is similar toQ1, which saw a 76 index for future business conditions and 68 for current.
  • Next quarter sales expected to increase: More than half (53%) of industry experts expect sales growth in Q3, while one-third (36%) predict sales will remain flat YOY. Manufacturers are the most optimistic among respondents, with 63 percent expecting growth and less than 10 percent anticipating a decline.
  • Industry health remains steady: The kitchen and bath industry rates current industry health at a 6.6 out of 10, comparable to Q1’s 6.8. Building and construction firms rate the industry as healthiest, at a 7 out of 10, while manufacturers estimate 6.7 and retail sales and designers come in at 6.6.
  • Gradual growth: The kitchen and bath industry is still expanding with an index score of 65.7, but not at the rate seen in Q1, when the KBMI hit 71.

Darcy was recently featured in the media to discuss the latest KBMI results. He appeared on CNBC’s “Worldwide Exchange” with Brian Sullivan and Yahoo Finance’s “On the Move” with Adam Shapiro and Julie Hyman. Click below to watch the full segments:

The quarterly KBMI reports are available for free to anyone in the industry. To download the free KBMI Q2 2019, click here.