Kerry Pianoforte, Editor
While not back to pre-recession levels, the U.S.econom- ic situation is certainly looking brighter. According to a recent report from the National Association of
Realtors, new-home sales are at a ;ve-year high. Total existing-home sales this year will be 10 percent higher than 2012, reaching more than 5.1 million, and are likely to hold even in 2014.
This is good news for exterior architectural coatings manufacturers, who rely on both existing homeowners repainting and
new home construction for their business to grow.
“We are certainly seeing positive growth in the exterior ar-
chitectural coatings market and this is being fueled by an im-
proved housing market and increased consumer con;dence,”
said Ethan Opolion, product manager at Dunn-Edwards.
“The rebound in construction activity is a key driving force
in this improvement.”
“According to the U.S. Paint and Coatings Market re-
port, from August 29, 2013, U.S. demand for paint and coat-
ings is forecast to reach 1.5 billion gallons in 2017,” added
Opolion. “This is a large gain from the volume declines re-
corded during the 2007-2012 period. These gains will be fur-
ther supported by an improved economic outlook and greater
consumer con;dence.”
As the housing market improves, property owners – both
single family and multi-family, are more likely to repaint the ex-
terior of their properties.“Exterior painting projects tend to be
more expensive and a little more complex than interior projects,
so when the housing marker was down, property owners would
prioritize repainting the interior before doing the exterior,” said
Colin Jaffe, senior vice president of pro sales for professional
products and services at Behr Process Corp.
Improvements in the housing market will have a positive impact on the exterior
architectural coatings market.
Exterior Architectural
Coatings Market
FEATURE
Photo courtesy of PPG
