TAKE FIVE—NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION TRENDS IN MATERIALS AND MORE

Granite countertops and single-basin kitchen sinks, as shown in our Piedmont model kitchen, continue to grow in popularity.

The most recent Annual Builder Practices Survey, conducted by Home Innovation, offers insights on which building materials are trending in the new-home construction market. Home Innovation’s annual survey and reports have tracked market shares of building material categories for over three decades.

Here are five findings from the latest survey worth considering if you are planning to build your dream home.

1. Appliances– The heat is on cooktop and wall oven combinations as their popularity grows. These combos account for 24% of the market compared to traditional freestanding ovens at 45%. As foodies demand more high-temperature cooking options, there has been a growing demand for induction cooking. This form of heating uses strong magnets to heat pots in a matter of seconds. Author and chef, Jan D’Atri, commented regarding induction stoves, “I don’t think the technology was there before. Now it is, and it’s a great option.” She also anticipates that more high-end consumers will demand combi ovens which roll steam and convection into one, instead of the common, second oven.

Side-by-side refrigerators that experienced immense growth in recent years have fallen to 28% of the market share. This is due to the growing popularity of freezer-on-bottom refrigerators which had 19% of the market share when the survey was conducted. Traditional freezer-on-top models bottomed out at 13%.

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2. Kitchen sinks– The single basin sink is making a comeback according to survey results. In the past decade, demand for single basin sinks for single-family homes has quadrupled from 5% to 20%. Many cite the fact that they rarely used the second side of the double sink and therefore selected a single basin for their new home. A newcomer to the sink stage, granite and stone kitchen sinks are growing in popularity while the demand for one-piece cultured marble sinks continues to decline. Finally recovering from its recession-induced drop in 2009, enameled cast iron is once again gaining popularity.

3. Countertops– The demand for laminate, solid surfacing and ceramic tile countertops continues to wane. Granite is still the queen countertop as the survey results show that 64% of all new-home countertop installations are granite. Quartz and engineered stone are expected to grow in popularity, and had just 6% of market share at the time of the survey.

4. Garages– In 2014, a whopping 32% of all new single-family homes were built with bays for three or more vehicles which is the most ever recorded in the Home Innovation study’s history. Today’s garage doors have been enhanced with windows, insulation and doors constructed from composite or plastic materials.

5. Flooring– We recently published a series of two posts focused on flooring trends, however carpeting was not included. Approximately 83% of all new-home bedrooms have carpeting, so it is still popular. Interestingly, the survey found that less than half of all living room installations have carpet. Instead, as we shared two weeks ago, both engineered and solid hardwood flooring continue to be a popular choice for common areas of the home.

Article by: Jennifer Elkow