Website provides a better way to better your home

PaintFaucet.com, an online marketplace for homeowners and home service professionals, taps into the home improvement industry. Developed by St. Louis-based online application provider, Roundedcube (roundedcube.com), the website aims to significantly streamline the home improvement/maintenance service purchasing process.

The home improvement (HI) industry has seen a drastic rise in demand and supply in recent years. Besides healthcare, it is quickly becoming one of the most stable industries to invest. After the recent turmoil the United States faced, homeowners are going back inside the home and making their abode a place of comfort, security, and enjoyment.

As a result, you have seen the rise of mega-home improvement stores such as Lowes and Home Depot. You have also seen the profitability of niche shops such as Pier 1, IKEA, and many garden-oriented stores. It is easy to notice peoples purchasing power has come back except not in retail but in home improvement. Even home sales are on the rise because of very low mortgage rates.

One of the effects of this boom that has not been thoroughly discussed is how busy the multitudes of small home-improvement businesses. Ive seen trucks from home exterior improvement companies and lawn and landscaping companies all over the place. Contractors, plumbers, and even cooling professionals have been busy. Even do-it-yourselfers" are now on the rise with the help of home improvement shows from TLC, Discovery, and BBC America..

But how busy exactly are they?
Based on a research conducted by the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI), in 2003, the professional remodeler market outpaced the purchase of HI goods by 1.1%. Also, 2003 is the year of a record high $204 billion HI industry based on product sales. However, the service professional growth rate is short term, in the next three years is only less than a third of consumer purchases of HI products, that is, 6.0%/year for purchases versus 1.9% for professional services annually.

In addition, the professional market growth rate is expected to stay flat in the next few years because of slowly increasing mortgage rates. With rates back up, the money for home improvement starts to dwindle. Instead, the consumer market will surpass the professional market with a steady growth of 5.7% from 2004-2007.

So, why PaintFaucet?
Although the HI market is growing, the consumer purchases are seeing the brighter future. PaintFaucet was developed to tap into increasing the HI professional services. With the purchases projected at $246.7 billion in 2007, homeowners are likely to need the help of professionals even though do-it-yourselfers" (DIY) are here to stay. But DIY is about to stay flat as there is a job boom in the horizon. With this boom, DIY will have less time to spend at their home for improvements and will have to think about their careers. The unemployment rate in the past few years somehow contributed to the HI industrys growth.

Besides the HI markets bright future, another aspect of PaintFaucets success is the proliferation of the Internet. According to HIRI, Internet penetration is fast approaching to 60% and has no sign of slowing down. Even about 18% of those with no at-home connection have made online purchases either from work or through a friend. Internet appliances are going mainstream from power-packed mobile phones to centrally electronically-controlled homes. So, in the future, whats stopping a homeowner from having her refrigerator automatically alarm her preferred appliance handyman when it runs out of Freon?

PaintFaucet envisions a community of homeowners and service professionals where help is just around the corner, where the options are limitless, where the opportunities are just a click away, and where service quality is at its highest. Satisfaction guaranteed is not just a marketing cliché anymore. It becomes a reality.

About Roundedcube
Roundedcube is an end-to-end web technology solutions provider start-up for small, medium, and large companies looking to strengthen their online strategy through marketing, systems integration, dynamic sales channels, and customer relations. Roundedcube, though focuses on the Microsoft platform and the .NET Framework, is an enabler of any all web-related strategies. Roundedcube continues to improve its market share through industry solutions, packaged software, and customized development. Roundedcube, established in 1998, is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.