Use This NAHB Resource to Help Select New Home Building Materials
Home builders throughout the United States are grappling with building material price surges, and shortages or delays for certain orders, which are leading many to explore alternatives to complete or start projects.
Builders face many choices in selecting new products, materials, equipment and fixtures to use in constructing a home, and can determine which building materials best fit their needs by getting information about new or unfamiliar items from manufacturers and distributors. Carefully reviewing building material choices in advance may help eliminate non-conforming building materials, returns and possibly disputes.
NAHB has developed a guide, Assessing Building Materials, for builders who may not have their own review process for gathering information from manufacturers and distributors when considering the selection of new building materials.
The guide is intended to arm members with the most important factor when evaluating new materials or products: information. Use the guide to step through the information collection process to make an informed decision on deploying new products or materials. The guide is not intended to be exhaustive or all-inclusive, but it will help builders ask the right questions and seek the most relevant information.
Latest from NAHBNow
Membership
Sep 24, 2026
NAHB Mourns the Passing of Past Chairman Tom Woods
Tom Woods, 2015 NAHB chairman, passed away on Monday, Sept. 21. A Blue Springs, Mo.-based home builder and its former mayor, Woods served as president of Woods Custom Homes.
Economics
Sep 24, 2026
New Home Sales Rise as Affordability Challenges Continue
Sales of newly built single-family homes increased 6.4% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 684,000, following an upwardly revised July estimate, according to newly released data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The pace of new home sales was 2% lower than a year earlier.
Latest Economic News
Economics
Sep 24, 2026
Single-Family Detached Homes Still Dominate Among the 55+ Population
Adults ages 55 and older make up a large and growing share of the U.S. population and play an important role in the U.S. housing market. In 2024, around 103 million Americans were ages 55 or older, ranging from adults still in the labor force to retirees.
Economics
Sep 23, 2026
Number of Bathrooms in New Single-Family Homes in 2025
Single-family homes started construction in 2025 typically had two full bathrooms, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Construction.
Economics
Sep 23, 2026
Q2 2026 Remodeling Market Update: Labor and Nonlabor Input Costs
The remodeling industry is taking on a larger role within the residential construction sector. Structural tailwinds, such as an aging housing stock, the growing trend of aging-in-place among older home owners, and record-high housing wealth, will continue to grow remodeling’s market share further.