Chris Ramey, president of The Home Trust International, and I just wrapped up a survey among over 500 professionals working in the design and luxury home industry.  While I have yet to begin our analysis, I am sure the findings will provide powerful insights and direction for design professionals and luxury home businesses.

One thing I can guarantee: We will take an objective and independent look at the survey results, unlike some of the findings in the recent report from ASID (American Society of Interior Designers), the industry association representing design professionals. While I valued its qualitative analysis of key industry trends, I took issue with the rosy picture it painted of the interior design industry.

For example, the ASID report quotes statistics showing rapid growth in the number of interior designers (68,067, up 11.9% since 2015) and interior design firms (12,642, up 6%).

However, while these measures are going up, one critical data point remains flat: the revenues for the interior design services industry rose less than 1% in 2016, less than inflation.  That means there are a whole lot more interior designers and interior design firms chasing roughly the same amount of money, $9.1 billion.

The reality is the design industry is one facing tremendous competitive pressures and marketing challenges.  In our recent survey, we asked a question about the kind of information needed to respond to the changes in the design and luxury home market. The top five information needs are these: