Ed Hudson, MBA

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.

Source: Home Innovation Research Labs’
Annual Builder Practices Reports

During my in-depth presentation, I reviewed new home and remodeling trends in window frames and glazing, patio doors, front entry doors, side/rear entry doors, and moving glass wall systems. I primarily focused on longer-term trends, the pandemic’s impact on purchasing patterns, and how market demand is shaping up for the coming few years. Here are just a few of the findings shared:

• Vinyl windows are the most common in new homes overall, particularly in starter and move-up homes.

• Larger builders — those constructing 50 homes a year or more — are 3 times as likely to install Vinyl windows than smaller builders.

• Wood windows are the top choice of smaller builders and builders of Luxury homes.

• Recent data shows the average new single-family Luxury home has about 28.8 windows, while the average starter home has only 11.3.

• The number of windows installed in a new single-family detached home went up from 17.8 to 19.5, on average, after declining in each of the previous 5 years.

• This increase reflects the strength of Move-up and Luxury home markets in 2021, where rising home prices sidelined buyers at the lower end of the price range.

• Over the past decade, sliding Patio Doors have gained share from about 40% to 60% of new single-family home installations, while swinging Patio Doors have declined by the same percentage.

• Moving Glass Walls are being used in place of traditional Patio Doors more than ever – now included in about 8% of all new single-family homes.

• Moving Glass Walls are particularly popular in the South and West.

• About 75% of Replacement Exterior Doors and Patio Doors were purchased from home improvement warehouse stores, while less than half of Replacement Windows were purchased there.

I you’d like to dig into this market deeper and would like a copy of the full presentation, reach out and let me know. Home Innovation tracks markets for dozens of building product categories – here’s the complete list of Builder and Consumer Practices Reports we offer:

Appliances Attic Access Bathroom Accessories & Tub or Shower Doors Beams Cabinets for Kitchen & Bath Cement Usage Countertops Deck & Porch Railings Driveways Ducts Exterior Doors Faucets Fences & Landscape Walls Finish Flooring Fire Sprinkler Systems Foundations Garage Doors Headers Home Electronics Home Mechanical Ventilation Home Standby Generators House Wrap & Radiant Barriers HVAC Systems Infrastructure Insulation

Interior Doors Interior Finish Materials Lighting New Housing Characteristics Outdoor Structures Patio Doors Plumbing Fixtures Plumbing Piping Radiant Floor Heating Roofing Roofing Underlayment Sheathing - Floors Sheathing - Roofs Sheathing - Walls Siding or Exterior Finish Soffit, Fascia, & Exterior Trim Structural Systems - Floor Structural Systems - Roofs Structural Systems - Walls Swimming Pools Underlayment Vapor Retarders in Walls & Ceilings Windows

If you want to fully understand current market demand for your product or material category, and how it fared in the past year, you need the 2022 Builder and Consumer Practices Reports. Contact us today to learn what doors have closed and what windows of opportunity have opened in your markets.

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