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House Rules spurs home upgrade sales spike – could TV be the next version of the bailout?

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Have you been bitten by the House Rules bug? After watching the show do you find yourself wanting a sweeping set of renovations around your house?

If so, you’re not the only one.

According to new data from local services marketplace, Oneflare, there’s been a sudden demand for tradies across the country since the runaway hit television show went to air.

When Seven’s House Rules first aired in April 2014, Oneflare, a website connecting consumers to over 40,000 home services businesses, recorded a sizable upswing in home improvement related job postings.

A ‘flare’ for design

Oneflare’s renovation and design planning tool, Oneflare Scrapbooks also reported a spike in traffic with increasing numbers of Aussies using Scrapbooks to plan their own house renovation.

And many Aussies were doing much more than swilling beers, firmly planted on their couches watching the contestants battle it out for the grand prize.

Data from Oneflare shows the following:

  • Job postings for interior designers rose by 48 per cent in May
  • Requests for kitchen renovations rose 35 per cent in May
  • Job postings for bathroom renovations rose by 30 per cent
  • Requests for architects rose by 28 per cent in May of this year

In a company statement, Marcus Lim, co-founder and CEO of Oneflare said, “Usually there’s a relatively steady amount of jobs in each service category, like people searching for cleaners, plumbers, and electricians. But in April of this year, we were baffled as to why there was a sudden jump in people posting home improvement jobs specifically.”

“When we looked into it further, we realised there was a link between when the House Rules show went to air and our job request data. It suggests that TV shows can serve as inspiration as well as entertainment.”

A new twist on scrapbooking

Oneflare recently launched Scrapbooks, a design tool that lets users plan the changes they want to make to their home, compare and hire the best value worker, and manage home improvement jobs straight from their PC or iOS device.

A recent report issued by the Housing Industry Association (HIA) forecasted total Australian renovations investment to once again exceed $30 billion over the next few years. Momentum is expected to build over the following years with growth of 1.2 per cent, 2.3 per cent and 2.5 per cent in each of the three years through to 2016/17.

An Anthillian recommendation on the findings…

So, since a television show has the power to give one sector of the economy a little push, maybe the Federal Government should consider funding one. Maybe in the spirit of spurring consumer discretionary spending? Perhaps a reality show on entrepreneurship?