September 7, 2018
Nickel for Your Thoughts … or Your Faucets? Remodeling Finish Trends
What constitutes a trend in building products? Is something “on trend” because an interior designer says it is? Or because it’s all the rage at a kitchen and bath trade show? Or because it makes an episode of a home improvement TV program? Not necessarily. While those things may deem a product to be “trendy,” they do not truly constitute a trend. I’ve seen several home remodeling “design trend” articles recently that were very interesting and enlightening, but also contradictory in describing what’s becoming more popular in the market according to our data. The biggest disconnect I’ve seen seems to be in the discussion of faucet finishes. If you just looked at just a handful of those articles, you’d swear that all new faucets were bronze, and that neither chrome nor stainless steel finished faucets exists anymore.
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August 17, 2018
Who’s on Deck? Outdoor Living Data Reveals Dramatic Swing in Builder Choice of Surface Materials
According to data from Home Innovation’s 2018 Annual Builder Practices Survey, more new homes are getting side & rear porches and decks than in past years, but fewer are getting on-grade patios. The inclusion of front porches and stoops on new homes, however, has fairly stable over the past decade.
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August 10, 2018
Concrete Evidence: Trends in Luxury Homes, Others in the Future?
Concrete homes are not new, and in a lot of places throughout the world they wouldn’t be described as particularly “fashionable” or trendy. There is concrete in nearly every home in the United States, particularly at the ground level and below, while above-grade portions of most residential structures are built primarily with structural wood framing. Less than 10% of new U.S. homes are constructed with above-ground concrete walls, and that hasn’t changed much over the past few decades though there has been a bit of ebb and flow.
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June 29, 2018
Home Innovation Shares Expert Insights on Fenestration at WDMA Conference
Speaking at the WDMA Technical & Manufacturing Conference in Minneapolis last week, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research Ed Hudson shared his expertise on the market for fenestration products, based on data from our Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Surveys.
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June 21, 2018
Home Innovation Shares Expert Insights on Plastics at PROFILES 2018
Speaking at AMI’s Profiles 2018 conference in Pittsburgh earlier this month, Home Innovation’s Director of Market Research Ed Hudson shared his expert opinions on all things plastic and home building-related, based on data from our Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Surveys. Below is a link to his full presentation on how to capitalize on developments on profiles for window, door, decking, fencing, and siding applications.
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June 12, 2018
Builder Survey Data: It’s What’s on The Inside (& Outside) That Counts
Home Innovation’s 2018 Builder Practices Survey continues to reveal many new trends (and trend reversals). We touched on the interesting changes underway in the housing mix in the last Trends post. Our ongoing dive into the Annual Builder Practices Survey data has pointed to other fascinating market shifts, as well.
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June 1, 2018
New Housing Mix: Are You In or Out of the Big Picture?
The turmoil of the mid-2000’s housing market bust and Great Recession set major changes in motion for the new home market. In fact, even now we’re still trying to sort out whether it will return to its old, familiar pattern or if we’re seeing the “new normal.”
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May 18, 2018
Consumer Spending Trends in Outdoor Living Spaces
Now that spring is officially in the air – along with plenty of pollen – it’s time to share some of the findings from our 2018 Consumer Practices Survey (CPS) on outdoor living.
The CPS is a survey of 110,000 U.S. and Canadian households that tracks hundreds of remodeling activities and materials purchases. The results of this year’s survey are now being tabulated, allowing us to see how trends in repair and remodeling purchases and activities are unfolding.
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May 3, 2018
Labor Shortage Leads to Growth Opportunities in Skills-Reducing, Efficiency-Improving Technologies
The “skill” in the construction industry’s Skilled Labor Shortage is driving market change, favoring skills-reducing and efficiency-improving innovations. More and more, this is not just a matter of simply moving the work from the jobsite to the factory. Rather, many opportunities for manufacturers seem to lie in creating technologies that can maximize efficiencies for both skilled and unskilled laborers on site, while not eliminating either role.
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April 12, 2018
Where Are We Stuffing All Our Stuff?!
There is an adage that says in any household, the things you have tend to accumulate to fill the space available for its storage. This certainly holds true in most American households. Though there are many who would say they don’t fit the stereotype, materialism and excess are often considered very “American” traits. And along with all the stuff we accumulate, comes the need to store it. Despite having the biggest homes in the world, more closets on average than any other country, as well as the most garages, somehow, we still never seem to have enough space to put everything.
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