Coatings World - November 2015

Kerry Pianoforte, Editor

According to data from the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales are predicted to rise approximately 7 percent in 2015 behind a
strengthening economy, solid job gains and a healthy
increase in home prices. On the heels of improvements
in sales of existing homes comes additional paint sales.
“When a home is sold, it’s not uncommon that it gets two
paint jobs,” said Tim Bosveld, vice president marketing
at Dunn-Edwards. “The first paint job is performed by
the seller to get the property ready for sale. The second
paint job is performed by the new home buyer because
they want colors that match their own tastes. On the
new residential construction front, new home building is
also improving. The improvement varies from market to
market. With new home construction comes additional
exterior architectural paint sales.”
Bosveld said Dunn-Edwards is cautiously optimistic
about market improvements. “Consumer confidence
has been improving, but the trend is still moving up and
down,” he added. “This uncertainty puts pressure on
households to reduce and/or manage spending very care-
fully. There is continued talk about interest rates rising
and this affects borrowing rates. Higher rates make it
more challenging for homebuyers to enter the market.
On a brighter side, early predictions for 2015 were first
time homebuyers were expected to enter the market
again. Also, there is pent up demand for property maintenance
that home and property owners need to address. To continue to
defer expenses could lead to major renovation costs. This trend
is providing gains in the remodeling market as a new class of
DIY-ers are taking on projects, versus hiring professionals, to
save money.”
“Positive housing trends, such as new home construction and
the rise in home values, positively impact the exterior architectural
coatings industry,” saidvice president, architectural coatings U.S.
and Canada, PPG Industries. “Housing and commercial indica-
tors call for continued growth, which in turn positively impacts
the architectural coatings industry.”

According to Dean Peterson, business development manager, metal building products, The Sherwin-Williams Company, it is the underlying dynamics of improvements in housing – like increased