Amid the pandemic and intermittent lockdowns that affected businesses, the years 2020 and the first part of 2021 were difficult for the home services industry.

The quick vaccination of the Malaysian population, as well as the reopening of the Malaysian economy, highlighted the second half of 2021.

As a result of that, the home service industries are positive about 2022 following a resilient recovery last year.

With almost no limits on economic activity, SMEs including renovation contractors in KL, Malaysia, are now witnessing a boom in pent-up demand for residential services.

From July to September 2021, the number of renovation and interior design tasks went up by more than double.

This is also true from September to November 2021: On-demand appointments for service providers like cleaners and air conditioning services have almost quadrupled.

Increased Costs of Materials

More than two-thirds of those polled, including house renovation contractors, expect higher business costs in 2021.

The major explanation cited was the rise in material costs.

Since October 2020, people working on home repair projects have seen a 41% spike in mild steel costs and a 20% increase in sand prices.

Rising material costs and customers' reluctance to spend more money hit the home improvement industry the hardest.

Home maintenance vendors saw a rise in average revenue from simple repairs and installations, but the home improvement industry was hit the hardest.

This was because home maintenance workers were able to keep working under the Movement Control Order for things like water leaks and power outages.

According to the survey, a majority of companies believe they will be back to pre-pandemic levels by 2022 (60%). Others feel that it may take longer, with 27.5% aiming for the end of 2023, and another 12.5% looking at 2024 and beyond.

When asked about their biggest business challenges, the most common reason given was "difficulty in finding local manpower with the right skills" (18.4%). This is on top of the fact that it's hard to hire foreign workers (12.6%), who make up a big part of the workforce.

Priorities for Home Services in 2022

"Grow or maintain revenue" and "ensure positive cash flow" are the two most common areas of focus for home and local service businesses in 2022 (43.7%  combined).

These are linked because the more jobs they can win and finish, the more revenue they will have to offset rising material costs. As a result, an increase in the number of home and local service projects is anticipated in this new year.

Online, On-demand Home Services

According to a Technavio report, Malaysia's online on-demand home services market share is expected to grow at a CAGR of 55.29% between 2020 and 2025.

Drivers and opportunities, top-winning strategies, the competitive landscape, future market trends, the size and scope of the market and major investment areas are all looked at in a detailed manner in the study.

In Malaysia, the market share of online on-demand home services will grow significantly. As more people in Malaysia use smartphones and the Internet, this segment of the market is expected to grow during the next few years.

The way people live and the amount of money they have are making Malaysians more interested in on-demand home cleaning and design services.

Moreover, cleaning and maintaining hygiene in the house has become a necessity in every home, and factors, such as a rise in the number of vendors offering home care and design services, will contribute significantly to the growth of the online on-demand home services market in Malaysia during the forecast period.

All In All 

According to the poll results, home service experts and renovation contractors in Malaysia predict a recovery in 2022 and beyond, as long as they can overcome a skilled workforce shortage and digitalize their operations.

While there are still some uncertainties, such as concerns about the new COVID-19 Omicron variant, the main focus will be on winning and completing more projects.