Articles

Angi’s 2024 State of Home Spending Report reveals that 93% of homeowners plan to take on home projects in 2025, even as total spending on home projects dropped by 12% in 2024. Read More

Coverings, North America’s largest global showcase of ceramic tile and natural stone, has revealed the must-see annual tile trends in commemoration of National Tile Day, February 23. The curated selection of global tile trends for 2025 spotlights a fusion of time-honored craftsmanship and cutting-edge innovation, setting the stage for what’s next in ceramic tile and reaffirming its role at the forefront of design and installation. Read More

Spending on nonresidential buildings — commercial, industrial, and institutional — increased about 6.5 percent last year. Admittedly, much of this gain was merely the increased cost of labor and materials but given all of the economic challenges that the industry was facing, it performed reasonably well. How is this year likely to turn out? Like always, a new year, a new set of issues. The challenges of last year have largely been replaced by the economic and policy uncertainties of this year. Three sources of uncertainty are worth discussing, namely tariffs, project mix and immigration. Read More

In a clear sign illustrating the housing affordability challenges facing Americans, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Cost of Housing Index (CHI) found that in the fourth quarter of 2024, a family earning the nation’s median income of $97,800 needed 38 percent of its income to cover the mortgage payment on a median-priced new home. Low-income families, defined as those earning only 50 percent of median income, would have to spend 76 percent of their earnings to pay for the same new home. Read More

Mohawk COO Paul De Cock, Engineered Floors’ senior vice president of residential sales Will Young, Mannington’s chairman of the board Zack Zehner and Shaw Industries’ executive vice president of residential sales Ben Liebert took the stage at tise to share their insights on “Flooring in 2025: Trends, Sustainability & Market Shifts,” an education session moderated by World Floor Covering Association’s Scott Humphrey which offered an in-depth look at the current challenges facing the industry — such as declining home sales and affordability issues — as well as strategies for navigating these downward pressures. The panel also discussed advancements in technology, labor issues and the potential impact of government policies set forth by the current administration. Read More

A slight uptick in the fourth quarter of 2024 enabled Mohawk Industries to reduce its decline in full-year revenue compared to the -3.8% reported in the first nine months. For the global flooring giant, 2024 closed with net sales of $10.8 billion, a decrease of 2.7% compared to the $11.1 billion of 2023. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted operating income both increased by 0.7% versus 2023, while adjusted net earnings grew by 5.1% to $617 million. The company generated $680 million of free cash flow, ending the year with approximately $1.6 billion in available liquidity. Read More

World production and consumption of ceramic tiles: forecasts to 2028 Feb 07, 2025, from Ceramic World Web Newsletter The MECS Research Centre has published the… Read More

After collecting over 100 trends in 33 industries for Design Forecast 2025, Gensler identified the five most important and actionable themes its clients should know now and in the year to come. Read More

Kitchen and bath product manufacturer sales (domestic shipments plus imports minus exports) weakened again in the fourth quarter of 2024 after turning upward in the previous quarter, according to the Catalina Research report. In the fourth quarter, sales were hurt by rising mortgage rates after declining over the previous three months. Rising rates turned consumers cautious, leading to inventory accumulation at distributors and dealers. Read More

M S International, Inc. (MSI)-a supplier of flooring, countertops, wall tile, and hardscaping products in North America-has revealed its Design Trends for 2025 in the MSI exclusive Lookbook. The 2025 Lookbook features five unique design trends created to invoke inspiration. Read More