During a presentation at NAHB’s 2019 Building Systems Housing Summit in October, Ed Hudson, Home Innovation Research Labs Director, Market Research, provided insight as to when and where he believes offsite construction technologies are likely to have an impact in the coming years. The data presented were from a survey of home builders Home Innovation conducted in August 2019.
Earlier this week, Ed Hudson, Director of Market Research for Home Innovation Research Labs, presented at the Society of Plastics Engineers’ 2019 Vinyltec® “Megatrends in Vinyl” Conference in Akron, Ohio. He began with a discussion of several of the major forces driving the home construction and remodeling industries and how these create opportunities and threats, specifically for construction products made of vinyl. Among trends discussed were our changing labor force and demographics; higher costs for materials and lot development; growing demand for increased energy efficiency; and new technology developments.
For the last two years in our Consumer Practices Survey, Home Innovation has asked a detailed set of questions about garage and closet storage purchases. About 2,300 U.S. households reported. Comparing purchase patterns between 2018 and 2019, interesting trends are starting to emerge.
Each year, about 2.3 million U.S. households purchase closet storage systems, including those in bedrooms, laundry rooms, and kitchen pantries. The 2019 study found that about 108 million linear feet of closet and garage storage were installed in U.S. homes. And, while the storage system market is largely a do-it-yourself market currently, we expect professionally installed closet and garage systems to continue to grow in popularity.
A quick web search on current trends in lighting will score a lot of hits and a lot of descriptors – “modern,” “metallic,” “industrial,” “eco-friendly,” “natural,” and others. A quick look into Home Innovation’s Annual Builder Practices Report reveals some deeper dimension of lighting trends. For example, there are far more lighting fixtures being installed on new homes now compared to a decade ago, both interior and exterior. Some configurations have seen more growth than others.
In a 2016 Trend post, we reported a brisk change underway in the home re-piping market. At that time, CPVC occupied the dominant position, and PEX was in third and gaining ground rapidly; this mirrored the rapid ascent of PEX in the new home piping market from a decade earlier. With the 2019 Consumer Practices Survey (CPS) now complete, we have seen that market continues to evolve in favor of PEX. But there’s also a new material in the mix — PE-RT, or raised-temperature polyethylene, is beginning to make a measurable impact.
Home Innovation’s 2019 Annual Builder Practices Survey of home builders had more than 1,600 participants this year, completing the detailed questionnaire on the homes they built in 2018. This study helps us track – and predict – trends in the popularity of home styles, features and materials used.
Presenting earlier this week at AMI’s 2019 Profiles Conference in Pittsburgh, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research Ed Hudson spoke about some of the big changes happening in the home construction and remodeling industries as they relate to plastics. Specifically, he covered trends happening in Windows & Patio Doors, Roofing, Siding & Exterior Finishes, Exterior Trim & Fascia, Decks & Railing Systems, and Fences & Privacy Walls. Ed’s insights are based on data from our Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Surveys, as well as his own decades-long analysis of industry trends.
Home Innovation’s recent 2019 Builder Practices Survey of 1,500+ U.S. home builders confirms what the U.S. Census has been reporting in recent months—the average new home size is declining. For the second time in a decade, the average home size paused its upward climb for at least a couple years of descent.
It seems logical to assume that older houses—with more wear and tear, longer exposure to weather, and functionally obsolete features—are more likely to be remodeled or upgraded than newer homes. So, following that logic, owners of “elderly” homes should be better targets for selling home improvement products and upgrades, right? Not necessarily. Applying this age-old assumption blindly across all product categories can lead to lost opportunities for selling remodeling products and services to owners of newer homes.
With the 2019 NFL draft underway, your favorite college football players are not the only ones “going pro” this year. Based on this year’s 2019 Consumer Practices Survey data, it appears fewer home remodeling projects are do-it-yourself, and more are being done by professionals. For example, nearly 90% of roofing installed on existing residential properties is now done by a professional; just five years ago that number was less than 80%.
The U.S. home re-roofing market is a behemoth—covering about 13 billion square feet of residential roof area each year. An above-average 2018 storm season in the United States ensured an above-average number of roofing replacements based on the initial findings from the 2019 Consumer Practices Survey.
Presenting this week at the Society of Plastics Engineers’ 2019 ANTEC Conference in Detroit, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research Ed Hudson spoke about opportunities for building materials manufacturers, particularly focused on plastics materials, based on major changes happening in the residential construction industry. Ed’s insights are based on data from our Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Surveys, as well as his own decades-long analysis of industry trends.