Through its Annual Builder and Consumer Practices surveys, Home Innovation Research Labs has seen some notable trends emerge in the flooring market for new-home construction: carpeting is retreating to bedrooms; resilient flooring is losing its already dwindling share to tile; and hardwood finish flooring is now dominating the main living areas of new homes. The biggest winner among all flooring types in the past decade has been engineered hardwood, capitalizing on the style trend toward wood finishes and the need for quick, trouble-free installation.
Hardwood is now the most popular flooring in new-home kitchens. In the past 12 years, hardwood floors—solid and engineered combined—have grown from 11% of all flooring in new single-family homes to 31%. Ceramic tile has shown a much slower growth rate in that same period, meanwhile, from 15% to 21%. Hardwood (all types) has become more popular in all areas of the home except the bedroom and bathroom. It now represents 65% of all flooring installed in new-home dining rooms, half of all flooring in living rooms, and about 45% of all flooring installed in kitchens. Within the hardwood category, engineered wood has been the biggest gainer, especially in production and semi-custom homes.
The most notable flooring trend, however, is where market movement is not happening. Laminate and, more recently, luxury vinyl tile (LVT) have not caught on in new homes like they have in the flooring replacement/remodeling market. Builders have told Home Innovation that, after figuring in installation cost, laminate is not much less expensive than hardwood so, “you may as well buy the real thing.”
With flooring, trends often originate in the luxury home market before going mainstream and trickling down to move-up and starter homes. Based on what’s happening with luxury home flooring, Home Innovation’s director of marketing research Ed Hudson predicts growth in hardwood finish flooring still has a lot of steam left; demand for carpeting and vinyl sheet will continue to soften in new homes; and tile and natural stone flooring may grow moderately.
The real unknown, according to Hudson, is whether LVT will begin to capture share in new homes like it has in the replacement market. In luxury homes, natural materials like solid hardwood, tile, and stone will continue to do well, and engineered hardwood will continue to see an increasing share as the production building segment responds to the growing demand for wood-finish flooring.
For more information on trends in flooring or other product categories, get in touch with Hudson at HomeInnovation.com/MarketResearchContact.
