2024 Builder Practices Survey Reveals a New Normal for Building Products

The results of Home Innovation's annual Builder Practices Survey are in! Builders are looking for ways to reduce labor and materials costs and improve the durability and efficiency of new homes. New market demand reports are now available in dozens of categories, and the data shows clear trends emerging. 

Undoubtedly, the pandemic has changed the housing landscape, and particularly the materials selected for constructing new homes. But did COVID really set a new direction for materials preferences, or was it a just a blip on a long-term, stable trend line? Having tracked building product markets for the past 30 years, Ed Hudson, Director of Marketing Research at Home Innovation, has observed a few occasions where economic and societal changes set a new trajectory for building materials choice—and COVID was definitely one of them.

A review of the 2024 Builder Practices Survey provided confirmation of what building materials changes were temporary, and what now appear to be a part of "the new normal.” 

The Return of Vinyl Flooring to Prominence in New Homes 

Only a decade ago, Vinyl flooring was all but dead in new homes, representing only 6% of all new home flooring. That changed dramatically with the introduction of Luxury Vinyl flooring, which is now the 2nd most popular flooring in new homes, following close behind carpeting. LVP/LVT’s growth has been nothing short of astounding, leading to a quadrupling of vinyl flooring’s share in new homes in the past decade. One differentiating factor of Luxury Vinyl to other flooring is its very broad appeal: it’s the #2 flooring choice in all major rooms in new homes:

• Kitchens & bathrooms (behind tile)
• Living room, dining room, foyers/hallways, and family rooms (behind engineered hardwood)
• Bedrooms and basements (behind carpeting)

New Levels of Energy Efficient Building:

As builders clamor to meet more stringent energy efficiency targets, their approach to air-sealing the building envelope has undergone some big changes. Our new Air Sealing report shows that about 2/3 of builders rely on housewrap and taping sheathing systems as the primary building envelope seal, supplemented by caulking and foam sealants for gaps and cracks at framing member junctions and building envelope penetrations. In this year’s survey, more builders than ever reported the use of spray foam cavity fill as their primary air sealing approach (17%). 

Not only are more builders placing ducts in conditioned areas of the home, a newer category of HVAC duct insulation, reflective bubble wrap, has grown to over a quarter of all metal ducts in new homes. Instantaneous water heaters now represent one-half of all new home water heating units, up from 40% only 4 years ago.

Resiliency and Fire-Resistive Construction

The COVID pandemic jump-started the awareness of home resiliency—the ability resist disaster and get back to business in the event of a disaster or power outage. Fire-retardant sheathing products saw a big jump in usage in the past year—primarily in walls and roofs. Brick exteriors also increased substantially as well. Home standby generators were installed in more than 11% of new single-family homes, up from 6% prior to the COVID pandemic.

Style Trends Playing Catch-up with Home Remodeling 

Particularly in kitchens and bathrooms, new home interior style trends have tended to lag those of home remodeling in recent years. For example, painted Shaker-style kitchen cabinets have been the most popular style in home remodeling since 2020, surpassing wood stain finish cabinets with raised-panel doors. This trend is finally beginning to take hold in new homes; the 2024 Builder Practices Survey revealed shares of painted Shaker and raised-panel wood finished cabinets are now equal at 27%.

In new home kitchen countertops, Quartz is on track to edge out Granite as the most popular choice. This happened in remodeling a few years ago. As a new home vanity countertop, Quartz leapt ahead of granite recently in 2023.    

Return of Supply and Pricing Stability for Structural Systems

The fluctuating prices and availability of wood products and structural components had a big impact on materials choice in the wake of the pandemic, but they seem to have returned to normal. Roof trusses and factory-built wall panels have regained all or most of what they lost with COVID’s supply chain issues. OSB has gained the ground it lost to plywood in the past few years.

Tight Labor Markets and Skilled Worker Shortage Affecting Choice of Materials

The building industry continues to make choices that streamline the construction process. Its impact has been seen in home exteriors—with greater color variety and product availability, both fiber cement and engineered wood siding have both experienced market share gains in the past year. Adhered stone exterior shares continued to creep downward, while easy-to-install mechanically-fastened stone alternatives are enjoying more popularity. 

2024 Builder Practices Reports - Available Now!

If it’s been a while since you’ve done a deep dive into market conditions or if you're considering new investments in product development, now is the time for a checkup. The 2024 Builder Practices Reports are now available in the below categories. Get in touch now to learn how you can explore your specific product categories in this rapidly changing industry. 

• Appliances
• Cabinets for Kitchen & Bath
• Countertops
• Deck & Porch Railings
• Exterior Doors
• Faucets
• Fencing & Landscape Walls
• Finished Flooring
• Garage Doors
• Home Mechanical Ventilation
• Home Standby Generators
• House Wrap & Radiant Barriers
• Insulation
• Interior Doors
• Interior Finish Materials
• Outdoor Structures - Decks, Patios & Porches
• Patio Doors
• Plumbing Fixtures
• Plumbing Piping 
• Roofing
• Roofing Underlayment
• Sheathing - Floor, Roof & Wall
• Siding & Exterior Cladding
• Soffit, Fascia & Exterior Trim
• Storage Systems for Closet & Garage
• Structural Systems - Floor, Roof & Wall
• Windows

ABOUT: Home Innovation Research Labs, located in Upper Marlboro, Md., is a full-service research, testing, and consulting firm determined to improve the quality, durability, affordability, and environmental performance of single- and multifamily homes and home building products – in short, we aim to perfect the home. Founded in 1964 as a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), our team has been integral in solving many of our client’s most difficult product and technology issues, and helping to introduce some of the most groundbreaking innovations in construction. Through an interdisciplinary research approach – including market research, building science analysis, laboratory testing, and standards development – we help to find a home for innovation in the construction industry.

NOTE TO EDITORS ON STYLE USAGE: To identify this company and its work correctly, first reference should be "Home Innovation Research Labs." In subsequent mentions, “Home Innovation” should be used; we are not identified by an acronym. Prior to February 12, 2013, the company was known as the NAHB Research Center.