Residential Construction Remodelers See a Promising Pipeline

Residential construction pros depend on their tools to deliver the quality work necessary to build their reputation. At Stanley, we wanted to further understand the experience that professionals are having on the jobsite each day. In a survey that we conducted earlier this year, owners and managers of small, residential repair and remodeling companies reported a job satisfaction rate of 85%, placing them among the happier professionals in the U.S. The findings also revealed that most of these professionals find pleasure and fulfillment in their work (86%), and believe the financial benefits are worth their efforts (82%).

The Stanley Pro’s Perspective: Job Satisfaction Report surveyed 526 owners and managers of small (20 or fewer employees) repair and remodeling companies across the U.S., with all regions of the country represented. The survey aimed to assess job sentiment and satisfaction, understand current and projected workloads in 2025, and capture a snapshot of what projects their clients are pursuing.

Overall, the survey findings reinforce the fact that residential pros see continued unmet needs in the market, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurial contractors. The outlook for residential home improvement, remodeling and repair remains reassuring:

• Remodelers projected a steady market for residential repair and improvement projects through 2025.
• Homeowners are willing, even in an uncertain economy, to invest in home improvement and prioritize high-end design projects, according to contractors.

Residential Pros Really Matter

The high job satisfaction rate reported in this survey was reinforced by the sense among remodelers that owning and managing their business is a purposeful and fulfilling role in society.

Eight out of 10 agree that society values skilled trade professionals like themselves, 84% feel respected as a professional and 82% agree their clients respect their recommendations.

Eighty-two percent take pride in the “very high-quality” work that they perform, and 81% believe that their autonomy is essential to their job satisfaction.

Finally, most residential remodelers (85%) say their clients show appreciation for their work, for example, by referring family and friends (64%), saying thank you (45%), writing a review or sharing about their business on digital platforms (44%), or giving repeat business (44%).

Real Business Pressures

While positive about their livelihood, remodelers expressed some concerns about running a business at the current moment in our economy. The top concern cited was the cost of materials (36%). Other concerns included:

• The cost of labor (30%), finding qualified labor (24%), retaining skilled employees (25%)
• Maintaining their reputation (27%), growing their business (25%), making sure customers pay on time (25%)
• The state of the economy (25%)
• Maintaining a work-life balance (25%), staying healthy enough to keep working (25%)

More Opportunity to Earn 

Almost unanimously, residential remodelers say they were satisfied with their volume of work in 2024 (95%), and 89% were satisfied with their volume in the first half of 2025. While market conditions fluctuate, 89% of those surveyed still feel confident about the volume of work for the second half of 2025. In fact, 69% say their clients are increasing the size of their 2025 projects, and most survey participants disagree that their clients are backing out of (66%), scaling down (60%) or delaying (57%) approved projects.
 

State of the American Home

Participants in the survey report that most homes they work on are in good (54%) to excellent (37%) condition.

Nearly half of the survey participants work on homes valued between $250,000 and $499,000. Twenty-one percent of survey participants say they work on homes valued between $500,000 and $749,000.

Most survey participants say their projects fall between $10,000 and $19,000 — somewhat below the median spend on remodeling projects ($24,000 in 2023) — and 17% are between $5,000 and $9,000.
 

High-End Design Trends Creating Demand

Ninety-three percent of remodelers say their clients are interested in high-end design projects in 2025. The survey provided a list of high-end design projects selected from home and design publications and asked remodelers to identify those that their clients were asking for. Below are the most requested projects:

Focus Areas in the Home

• Among areas of the home, residential pros reported that homeowner priorities in 2025 are full or partial renovations of the kitchen (81%) and bathroom (79%), followed by living room (48%) and basement (64%) renovations.
• Among partial kitchen remodels, the priorities for homeowners are flooring (48%), new cabinets (43%), wall tile or backsplash (43%), and countertop (41%).
• Among partial bathroom remodels, the priorities are the floor (51%), drywall (49%), wall tile or backsplash (47%), shower (46%), tub (44%) and sink (41%).
• Throughout the interior of the house, the priority areas for renovation are tile flooring (38%), painting (36%), ceiling enhancement (35%), and interior doors, lighting/ceiling fans, and stairs 
  or railings (all 35%).
• Among outdoor projects, residential pros said their clients were most interested in outdoor structures like garden beds and pergolas (35%); exterior doors (33%); patios, porches, decks or gazebos (32%); lighting (32%); garages (30%) and fences (28%).

Remodelers said their clients are prioritizing indoor and outdoor projects about equally in 2025. Priorities among repair and remodeling projects are also about the same.

All told, the results are clear: optimism and growth are bountiful in the residential trades. Beyond the financial benefits, the work is fulfilling, and these pros have the opportunity to leave a mark. Those who seize the opportunity will continue to find success, bucking employ