At Deck Expo: It’s the economy
DALLAS, TEXAS —During an expo that displayed the tremendous variety of deck railings, deck vignettes, pool supplies and hot tubs, an analyst took attendees on a dive into the economy.
And with mostly positive findings.
Overall, there’s about $35 trillion in total home equity, and an average of $350,000 per home, he said.
High interest rates — at about 6.8 percent currently for a 30-year fixed rate — are preventing a lot of people from tapping it. “The magic number we’re looking at is 5.0 to 5.5 percent," he said. "We feel like once that happens, the game will be on." And when might that happen? Industry Insights is looking to 2026.
But there remain many unknowns that could change the forecast.
Pointing to survey results from the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance, Hackworth shared a list top challenges for all companies. Leading the list from the Q3 survey were:
• “Economic factors such as inflation and consumer spending patterns” (71%);
• “Maintaining profitability in the face of rising costs” (56%); and
• “Recruiting and retaining skilled employees” (44%)
These were the same top three found from the first quarter survey.
From the analyst's standpoint, unanswered questions involve the rate of change inflation, the potential for tariffs, the ability of companies to find labor, and overall consumer sentiment.
“Those are concerns that we'll watch,” he said.