Home service demand has increase significantly during the pandemic, according to Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM Data Solutions. HVAC, plumbing and electrical services have all increased during the pandemic's stay-at-home orders, both in single-family homes and apartment units. Stay-at-home and work-from-home mandates have put strain on in-home systems.
"Home service professionals are seeing a high demand during quarantine in meeting the needs of homeowners seeking essential home services like HVAC repair and plumbing," Barber tells GlobeSt.com. "Specialists and contractors in these areas and others like home security, home entertainment, home tech and home construction projects, are being called upon now more than ever as a result of Americans spending more time at home."
While demand has increased, responses times have been slowed due to safety precautions for workers. As a result, some owners might experience a delay in service. "While home service professionals want to capitalize on this surge in demand, they're also struggling with how to meet it while ensuring their team's safety amid the current health crisis," says Barber. "Uniquely poised to help with this conflict, property data is helping home service providers, as well as dispatchers, more effectively gauge risk, evaluate jobs and ensure solid earnings during these unique times."
Companies are using data to pre-screen jobs, ensure safety and understand essential elements about a home. "Dispatchers are using our data to seamlessly and immediately know a home's size, age, features and more—all before heading out to the site," says Barber. "Paired with homeowner insight, this advantage allows home service professionals to not only effectively price a job and be properly equipped for the job, but to also gauge how much risk it might pose to homeowners as well as workers, and help qualify emergency situations."
Data will also play an essential role as the nation slowly moves out of the COVID-19 pandemic. "Armed with detailed data, like offering deep insights into what type of HVAC systems are in a home, its outdoor and indoor features, electrical details, lot width and depth, and more, home service professionals will be able to make better, more informed decisions from pricing a job to ensuring safety and compliance at every turn, as we progress toward each new phase in this new normal," says Barber.
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Kelsi Maree Borland
