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Current Cincinnati Home Repair Trends in 2022

Cincinnati Skyline - Cincinnati Home Repair Trends

At ProMaster Home Repair & Handyman, we get lots of questions from customers who are trying to understand Cincinnati home repair trends and decide on a trusted home repair contractor.

We get a lot of the same questions. They range from the type of work we do to some off the wall ones from other states asking if we’ll drive there to repair box gutters.

But one question we get now more than ever: “How far out are you booking?”

We’ve all come to expect those dreaded longer wait times as material costs and labor shortages have wreaked havoc for more than two years.

So where does ProMaster Home Repair fit in with Cincinnati home repair trends? We’ll tell you.

Wait Times Are Shorter Than You’d Think

As we talk to potential customers about home repair projects, we hear stories of some companies who are booked up for what seems like impossible amounts of time. Some are booked through the fall. Others until the winter. A few won’t even take work until spring 2023!

In fact, WCPO Channel 9’s John Matarese recently contacted ProMaster Home Repair to discuss this very Cincinnati home repair trend.

What he concluded is a good representation of the bottom line: you may have to wait for some home repair projects due to material delays, but things are getting better.

Some of those projects with material wait times include window installation, custom cabinetry, entry door installation, and shower door installation.

ProMaster Home Repair, and nearly all home repair contractors, are not immune to those delays.

But for many other home repair projects, your wait time with ProMaster will likely be closer to 3-6 weeks (or shorter) rather than 3-6 months.

ProMaster in the News Adam Crowell - Home Repair Trends
Click above to watch ProMaster’s feature with WCPO Channel 9’s John Matarese.

1. Our number of skilled craftsmen is higher than many comparable companies. At ProMaster, we maintain a crew of approximately 15 Home Repair Heroes – and we’re looking to grow! 

Many companies may operate with a smaller team. We’ve been there too! But with more than 15 years of serving Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, we have honed our systems to attract the highest quality craftsmen to work with us.

More craftsmen means more people to evaluate and complete your home repair project. That leads to the work done in half the time. This decreases our future wait times and reverses some of those Cincinnati home repair trends.


2. Did we mention we employ highly skilled craftsmen? All of our craftsmen go through a rigorous vetting process to ensure we’re giving our customers the best of the best. 

Employing highly skilled craftsmen is, of course, critical to providing quality home repair. But it also means our craftsmen work very efficiently. We’ll do the work right the first time, and we’ll get to as many projects as possible while maintaining our highest standards of quality.

That efficiency means more opportunities to serve our next customers and less time for you to wait.


3. Integrity is at the heart of what we do. We strive to provide On-Time, Family-Friendly service as a company. What does that mean?

It means that when we set an appointment time with you for an evaluation or for work, we’ll be there when we say we will. If we can’t get to a project for a long time, we’ll tell you. When we say we’ll get an estimate to you within 48 hours of an evaluation, we’ll do it.

Why does that reduce wait times? Because we don’t waste your time. Or ours. By showing up at specific times, only taking projects we can do, and providing estimates in a timely manner, we are setting a new Cincinnati home repair trend. We give you the best experience possible on a day-to-day basis to shorten those wait times in the long-term.

Why Are Some Companies Experiencing Long Wait Times?

Part of this issue isn’t just a Cincinnati home repair trend – it’s nationwide, and it affects ProMaster Home Repair as well. There are fewer people working in the trades, creating labor shortages for many companies. And that’s a trend that likely won’t change anytime soon.

According to information from Forbes in March 2022, the number of people working in the trades continues to decrease as many tradespeople near retirement age. 

Forbes says that from 2018 to 2020, the percent decrease in the number of trade laborers in these fields is as follows:

  • Construction laborers: 3% decrease in workers
  • Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters: 4.7% decrease in workers
  • Carpet installers: 11.8% decrease in workers
  • Drywall and ceiling tile installers: 2.2% decrease in workers
  • Carpenters: 2.7% decrease in workers
  • Construction trades workers: 1.5% decrease in workers
  • Painters, construction and maintenance: 4.6% decrease in workers

To compound this, fewer students are enrolling in trade-specific programs, meaning the market is not being replenished with well-trained craftsmen. 

According to Forbes, from spring 2018 to spring 2021, the percent decrease in the number of students enrolling in these programs is as follows:

  • Construction Trades: 19.6% decrease in enrollment
  • Mechanic and Repair Technologies/Technicians: 9.9% decrease in enrollment

This shortage, coupled with high demand, means many companies book out well in advance with fewer workers to cover all of the job requests. Even ProMaster, with 15 craftsmen, still often cannot get to jobs for a few weeks following an evaluation.

And yes, there are often wait times for many types of materials as labor shortages in other areas impact material production. Those impacts are forecasted to continue for many months to come.

  1. Do your research. You’re already doing that by reading this blog! Are you aware you’ll need a home repair project with a deadline? Make your appointment in advance for an evaluation so you can ensure you’re well-informed to make the decision best for you.
  1. Find a company that communicates well and works with you. That company is more likely to respect your time and have efficient processes in place. Therefore, they will have a greater ability to meet your deadlines.
  1. Be prepared to pay a premium for timeliness. Timeliness is at the core of the most frustrating Cincinnati home repair trends involving wait times. Companies who don’t respond in a timely manner or who don’t streamline their schedules are experiencing those long wait times, even if they may be less expensive.

Quality work includes responsiveness and timeliness – and those qualities are often hard to come by.

At ProMaster, we believe we are an example of that. We guarantee On-Time, Family-Friendly service, and that includes providing exact times for arrival at your home for evaluations and for project work. 

Those on-time evaluations do carry a $79 service charge. Why? Because time is money – for everyone. It’s a way to ensure that you are getting the best possible service. Company owner Don Kennedy says it well:

“I realize some clients prefer companies who offer “free” estimates. I believe this practice is not ultimately in the best interest of the consumer.  Companies offering “free” estimates must sneak the cost of their estimate into the back-end of a project for those who end up hiring them. I believe it is unfair to tell someone they are getting something for free while making them pay for both their estimate, AND those estimates for folks who never get any work done.”

-Don Kennedy, ProMaster President

If you’re looking for that kind of service in Cincinnati or Northern Kentucky, get in touch with us!

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