Home Innovation Insights

Insider insights on what's going on in the home building industry.

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Ed Hudson, MBA
August 29, 2024

New Trends Revealed in HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical Systems

Home Innovation's 2024 Builder Practices Survey of about 1,200 home builders has revealed new trends in new home building, specifically in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. Tankless water heaters gain market share along with standby generators and new types of duct insulation. 

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Ed Hudson, MBA
May 3, 2024

Key Facilitators for Offsite Construction Going Mainstream

Perceived barriers to offsite construction have lessened, but more efforts will need to be made to facilitate the shift. We surveyed a nationwide sample of 300 homebuilders in 2021, and 248 homebuilders in 2023 and asked them to describe in their own words what would push them to adopt offsite construction (modular, panelization, etc.). 

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Ed Hudson, MBA
January 18, 2024

ESG Reporting in the Homebuilding Industry

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting has become an increasingly popular way for companies to show their commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. In an effort to track diffusion of this practice among home builders, Home Innovation Research Labs, in collaboration with Professional Builder Magazine, surveyed 300 home builders in September 2023 about their current and anticipated ESG reporting practices and motives for adopting ESG reporting. 

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Ed Hudson, MBA
January 4, 2024

Offsite Construction: The Top 6 Barriers

Over the past few years, Home Innovation has conducted numerous studies to track the adoption of offsite technologies, identify and remove specific barriers, and create solutions that enable the industry to make the shift. While perceived barriers are shrinking slightly, they are still very present. We surveyed a nationwide sample of 300 homebuilders in 2021, and 248 homebuilders in 2023 and asked them to describe in their own words what’s keeping them from adopting offsite construction (modular, panelization, etc.). 

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Ed Hudson, MBA
August 8, 2023

Residential Sector Trends from the New Building Products Demand Meter

For more than 25 years, Home Innovation’s Annual Builder Practices and Consumer Practices Reports have offered unparalleled insight into the ever-changing picture of demand for residential building products. Combining rich detail of Home Innovation’s Builder and Consumer Practices Data with John Burns Research and Consulting’s prowess in building products demand forecasting is a powerful combination of data tools to keep your business a step ahead of your competitors. 

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Ed Hudson, MBA
September 8, 2022

Change in the Air: How Builders Plan to Navigate the Future

It’s very rewarding being a construction marketing researcher. I truly enjoy tracking, measuring, and predicting changes within the construction industry. But what I enjoy even more is helping our clients continue to reshape their businesses and product offerings to ensure they are providing the greatest value to their customers. This work requires regular interaction with builders and remodelers, keeping our “finger on the pulse” of the industry through interviews, focus groups, surveys, and jobsite observation. We listen and learn about their purchasing behaviors, problems at the office and jobsite, and the solutions they need or opportunities they are seeing.

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Ed Hudson, MBA
August 29, 2022

Smart Home Tech for All: New Builder Study Reveals Pervasiveness of Home Electronics

In December 2021, Home Innovation polled builders about changes to their business practices due to the pandemic – asking what they viewed as temporary, and what they considered a permanent part of their home building business going forward. While issues surrounding labor and materials took the forefront, and there was a notable boost in practices related to the outdoor living boom, there was another change reported that was a bit more unexpected – a wider embrace of “smart” home technologies. In their explanations, many builders said they had been caught off-guard by the expansion of home tech and were scrambling to keep up with the expectations of a new wave of tech-savvy buyers. I gave an overview of these study findings in my presentation to the Leading Suppliers Council at the 2022 International Builders’ Show.

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Ed Hudson, MBA
August 9, 2022

Latest Insights into New Home & Replacement Markets for Windows & Doors

Earlier this summer, I was invited to deliver the closing presentation of the WDMA 2022 Annual Technical and Manufacturing Conference. I shared 10-year market trends on window and door purchases in new and remodeled U.S. homes and insights into purchasers. As I have for more than 20 years, I sourced my data from Home Innovation’s annual trusted and industry-leading Builder and Consumer Practices Reports.

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Ed Hudson, MBA
July 21, 2022

Supply Chain, Labor Markets Creating Opportunities for Alternative Building Materials

Labor and supply chain issues have shaped the industry in recent years, particularly since the COVID pandemic. The net result has been longer construction cycle times, rising construction costs, and simply a much more difficult environment for building and remodeling homes. Our recent 2022 Builder Practices Survey sheds more light on how builder choices of home features, products, and materials has changed in response to these market conditions.

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Ed Hudson, MBA
June 16, 2022

Let’s Go to The Tape: Market Opportunities Presentation

Earlier this spring, I was asked to be a guest speaker at the Pressure Sensitive Tape Council’s Tape Week conference in Buena Vista, Fla. I provided the audience with an in-depth review of six key market opportunities for pressure-sensitive tapes and adhesives in residential construction, referencing our most recent Builder and Consumer Practices data trends and key drivers and market volumes for the six product categories. Below is a brief recap of the presentation takeaways:

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Author Bio
Ed Hudson, director of marketing research
Ed Hudson, MBA
Director, Market Research

Ed has 20 years of experience conducting research in the home construction industry. He and his staff conduct a wide array of both qualitative and quantitative marketing research supporting the development and commercialization of new building products and technologies.