Are We There Yet? Tracking Housing Industry’s “Wild Ride”

Speaking at the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association’s (NLBMDA’s) ProDealer Industry Summit in Chicago earlier this month, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research Ed Hudson presented analysis on the market for materials used in the construction of new homes and remodeling. The presentation traced the impact of numerous extreme events that have disrupted the U.S. Housing Industry in recent years, including:

• Housing market boom
• Housing market bust and declining housing values
• The Great Recession
• First-time homebuyer tax credits
• Energy tax credits
• Energy code increasing stringency
• Multifamily and single-family market rebounds
• Millennial generation preferences
• Ongoing skilled labor shortage

Over the past 15 years, these events have significantly impacted the housing mix of new starter, move-up, luxury, townhouse, and multifamily homes and resulted in uneven market declines and rebounds throughout the nation. This, in turn, has led to unpredictable growth and decline in the popularity in many building material types and styles. Based on his study of the data, Ed suggests the industry has been at a “new normal” for the past couple of years regarding materials purchasing behavior. However, he also predicts the current labor shortage in construction is threatening to disrupt this pattern.

 Presentation by Ed Hudson during 2018 ProDealer Industry Summit in Chicago.

Armed with decades of data from Home Innovation’s Annual Builder & Consumer Practices Surveys, Ed’s presentation addressed trends in:

• home design and layout
• structural framing in floors, walls and roofs
• sheathing
• alternative building systems, including concrete
• exterior finishes and trim
• insulation types and values
• decks and outdoor railing
• windows and doors

Ed is frequently called upon to share his insights with various industry groups. If you’re interested in finding out more about the data presented here, purchasing your own survey data reports with geographic detail at State, Metro, and County levels, or other market research, get in touch.

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