It might not always seem like the most accessible franchise industry for newcomers, but maintenance-oriented businesses offer an almost guaranteed demand
Our property means a lot to us. Property can, of course, refer to a whole host of things; kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, gutters, doors, cupboards, gardens – all of these require upkeep, maintenance, and occasional renewal. But it can also mean homely, personalized items like furniture, or even the smartphones that we rely on every day. If these break or falter, then consumers very quickly turn to the businesses that can help them. Nowadays, that solution is more than often a property, home, or repair franchise, and the sector is seeing exponential growth as a result.
Prosperity across the board
An important aspect to remember about this sector is just how diverse it can be. A franchise could offer a specific repairs service, such as uBreakiFix, which repairs various mobile devices, or Orkin, which has been controlling pests across the globe since 1901. When it comes to the home and property industry, there are almost as many different franchises as there are eager investors looking to sign up for the next big thing.
The best part? Maintenance franchises are thriving across the board. Jungleworks, a software developer for business solutions, reported that the on-demand home repair industry is worth a considerable $600bn. The mobile repair industry, meanwhile, is also seeing incredible demand, with Americans spending upward of $23.5bn on smartphone fixes, according to tech repair franchisor, Experimax. In the U.K., Mous – a British phone accessory brand – report that £680m is spent every year on fixing phone screens alone. Whichever niche you look to, home and property franchises are impossible to ignore.
Demand and supply
It’s clear that, worldwide, consumers are using franchises to repair and improve their goods like never before. But where is the uptake in this trend coming from? On the real estate side of things, it seems that a shift toward living in the same home for a longer period of time could go toward explaining this rising demand. According to First American, the average homeowner is living in their home for an average of 10 years, as opposed to just over a decade ago when that figure sat at around four years. Longer tenure means more repairs, but also a greater focus on ensuring the highest returns when it does come time to sell. Foxtons, a British estate agency, claims that the average home improvement job provides a return-on-investment of 300 per cent in the long run, due to property value and increased rents. It pays to pay up, and for the right franchisor, this can mean a reliable income simply not found elsewhere.
“Clearly the homeowner or investor has identified their properties are the financial foundation of their future,” says Warren Ballentyne, MD and founder of Gutter-Vac, a gutter maintenance franchise, “so the demand [for franchises] has increased significantly. The supply of these services has been drawn along.”
Residential upkeep isn’t just a U.S. concern, of course. For the States’ neighbors to the North, home improvement franchises have seen consistent returns for the past decade, if not longer; in 2015, Statistics Canada reported that Canadians were spending more than $17bn per year on home improvements, which worked out to an average of $5,000 per household.
“The homeowner or investor has identified their properties are the financial foundation of their future”
And in the U.K., a similar trend is emerging. Checkatrade, a British aggregator of service professionals, predicts in a study that an estimated £55.5bn (roughly $72.4bn) will be spent by Brits on home improvement and renovations in the U.K. in 2020. The study delves even deeper and reveals that kitchen renovations are best for adding property value, at 5.5 per cent, whereas a new or upgraded bathroom will add 2.6 per cent to a home’s asking price. This kind of analysis could prove useful when deciding which kind of franchise an entrepreneur wishes to partner with.
Experience optional
As with almost every franchising sector, having experience within the home and property industry isn’t an absolute requirement for entrepreneurs taking the plunge into a plumbing business, or gearing up for an auto repair concept. However, depending on how hands-on a franchisee may choose to be, it does help to have some kind of prior understanding of the processes involved, so that accurate consultancy can be provided to clients. Naturally, a property maintenance franchise will provide new franchisees with all the guidance and resources that they might need to make the business thrive. Experience isn’t a must – it’s just a perk that could see faster returns than the completely uninitiated.
Once this has been established, though, the demand for home and property franchises is enormous, diverse, and ongoing. Based on Census Bureau data, there are more than 210.5 million homeowners in the U.S.; many of who will be on the lookout for the right franchise to help as their properties depreciate and require upkeep.
This can’t even compare to the number of smartphones in the world, however, which Statista pins at around 3.2 billion. That’s a lot of screens to smash, and a lot of repairs to be made. Will you be the one to make them?
TRENDS TO WATCH
As part of its annual review, Forbes investigated the general trends that home and property franchisors should be aware of as we enter a new decade. The primary areas of focus were consultancy and communication; DIYers are looking for advice, sometimes more than hands-on labor, but brands will need to master all the right tech channels in order to speak with these savvy new consumers. Effortless apps, websites, and even Facebook pages are key to reaching a market more informed than ever before.
