Seen at the Builders Show

LAS VEGAS — The International Builders’ Show was running full throttle early this week as the nation’s builders descended on Las Vegas to see what's new and what's happening. 

Prodealers were in the mix as well, promoting their services in elaborate booths and walking the floor to see the sights and connect with vendors and partners, both new and old.

The event served as a springboard for industry statistics in a number of areas, including the size of the American house.

[Read about the NAHB's 2024 housing forecast here.]

According to a presentation on Home Trends & Buyer Preferences, houses are getting smaller. The average sq. ft. of a new single-family home started in 2023 was 2,411, down from 2,479 in 2022. 

Rose Quint, assistant vice president for survey research for the National Association of Home Builders pointed to the rising price of homes and homeowner preferences as causes of the trend to smaller homes. The median price of a home has increased 93% in 20 years to $427,000. 

Quint also used survey stats to identify the fastest growing features that homebuilders are building into homes during the past decade. Topping the list is "security cameras," up 36 percentage points since 2021. Here's the list:

Feature / 2012 penetration / 2023 penetration

• Security cameras, 40%, 76%;
• Wired home security, 26%, 61%;
• Programmable thermostat, 47%, 78%;
• Multi-zone HVAC System, 37%, 68%;
• Energy management system, 32%, 62%
• Video doorbell, 45%(2018), 74%;
• Wired home audio system, 24%, 53%.

"The fastest growing features all include technology," Quint said.

Other statistics from Las Vegas event relate to green building. 

Dodge Construction Network and the NAHB unveiled the latest findings from the Building Sustainably: Green & Resilient Single-Family Homes 2024 SmartMarket Brief. As the latest in a series of studies conducted by Dodge and NAHB, this comprehensive report showcases a remarkable uptick in the adoption of green building products and practices, signaling a dynamic shift toward sustainability among home builders and remodelers.

When asked about their use of 22 specific products and practices, builders and remodelers reported the following average usage increases from 2019 (the last time the survey was conducted) to 2024:

• Water Conservation: Increased nine percentage points
• Materials and Resources Conservation: Rose 12 percentage points
• Energy Efficiency: Surged 17 percentage points

These figures underscore a clear and undeniable trend: Homes continue to improve their sustainable performance, with builders and remodelers across the nation embracing eco-conscious practices.

“It is clear that green building has become a mainstream part of the residential construction landscape with more builders and remodelers engaging in sustainable building practices than ever before,” said NAHB Chairman Alicia Huey, a custom home builder and developer from Birmingham, Ala. “The results also indicate a potential for future growth by driving market demand for green homes, as well as an increased move toward enhancing homes through resiliency practices.”

Despite the uptick in specific green practices, many builders and remodelers do not perceive an overall increase in the construction of green homes. The study revealed marginal growth in 2024 compared to 2019 in the number of respondents who indicated that over half of their home projects were green. The number of new home projects reported increased by just one percentage point and remodeling projects by five percentage points.

“The study strongly indicates that incorporating energy efficiency, as well as water and materials conservation, into their projects is becoming part of the standard practice for builders,” says Donna Laquidara-Carr, industry insights research director at Dodge. “This suggests a likely improvement in the overall performance of housing stock, even if the share of homes flagged as green buildings has not appeared to change significantly.”