This year’s Central Pennsylvania Everything Home Expo event looked very different than last year’s virtual event. Thousands of people and nearly 100 exhibitors showed for the in-person event with a new location at the Nittany Valley Sports Center. The new venue is not the only change: at the career fair held during the expo, some employers were more eager to hire than usual.
The giant expo space was filled with a maze of venders showing off their bathroom, window, lighting and construction displays. One of those vendors was Frank Held, a certified field inspector for Baker’s Waterproofing there to share his expertise in basement waterproofing and remediation. He said after spending more time at home during the pandemic, people are more inclined to update their living spaces.
“People are looking for space to have a home office, they’re obviously looking for that square footage, you know, ‘How can I utilize this space?’ And the basement’s a lot of times an overlooked area,” Held said.
Held said that while Baker’s Waterproofing manufactures its own goods, the potential for the costs of materials increasing is something he is mindful of.
“That’s always a bit of a concern across there as far as the inflation and the rising costs across the board,” Held said.
Gordon Repine owns Remodelers Workshop in Bellefonte. He said his main concern is "not inflation, just simply supply and demand. There’s so much more demand, there’s not enough supply to go around. There’s not enough truckers, there’s not enough manufacturers, there’s not enough to make what we need."
This year’s Home Expo included a career fair with over 50 employers seeking workers. Repine said his presence at the expo was twofold: to showcase his work and to build his labor force.
“That’s half the reason we’re here. If you look at the outside of our booth, I put up little signs saying, ‘we’re hiring.’ We could hire 10 people tomorrow if we had the right people,” Repine said.
While many industries struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for home improvements surged. The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studiesfound that, “while the U.S. economy shrank by 3.5 percent in 2020, spending on home improvements and repairs grew more than 3 percent, to nearly $420 billion.”
Repine said the increased interest in home modifications has impacted his business’ schedule.
“I’ve been in business for 44 years and we are the busiest I’ve ever been. So, we’re normally booked out 2, 3, 4 months for projects. We are booking for projects at the end of the year right now. So that’s how much busier we are,” Repine said.
Jeff Stainbrook is a Sales Representative for Pella Windows and Doors. He said Pella also has more clients concerned about the state of their homes.
“As a regional side, as well as nationally, we’re definitely seeing an increase in the interest in updating homes and making more energy efficiency, keeping the houses more comfortable inside,” Stainbrook said.
The Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies report also said that 2020 marked “the tenth consecutive year of expansion for the industry.” Stainbrook said the industry growth is a result of a shift in consumer behavior.
“So, instead of taking the money and taking a trip, they’re actually taking that money and investing it in their homes. This is a good example of why this industry has actually been increasing in value over the last several years,” Stainbrook said.
Now that some people have begun traveling again, going to the office and returning to a state of normalcy, Stainbrook said there is still a very steady flow of demand.
Repine said, “it’s going to be a while” before things slow down.