Use This NAHB Resource to Help Select New Home Building Materials

Business Management
Published

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.

Subscribe to NAHBNow

Log in or create account to subscribe to notifications of new posts.

Log in to subscribe

Latest from NAHBNow

Business Management

Jul 14, 2026

Get Big Summer Discounts on NAHB BuilderBooks' Top Titles

Looking for the best residential construction books to read in 2026? NAHB BuilderBooks titles offer practical insights you can put to work immediately.

Young Professionals Committee | Student Chapters

Jul 14, 2026

How NAHB Helped Two Teens Create a Home Insulation Business

NAHB’s network of local HBAs provides a springboard for some of the country’s brightest young minds to pursue their goals within the home building industry. Logan Curran and Joe Krysmalski are two of the many examples of young professionals across the country who are seeing results.

View all

Latest Economic News

Economics

Jul 15, 2026

Building Material Prices Continue to Rise Despite Energy Price Declines

Residential building material prices, excluding energy, rose 0.5% in June and were up 4.6% from a year ago. Lower energy prices were apparent in June, as energy input prices fell 10.3% over the month. Meanwhile, prices for services rose 5.2% over the year, and were up 1.0% from the previous month.

Economics

Jul 15, 2026

Single-Family Permitting Continued to Weaken Through May

State-level permitting activity continued to reflect a divided housing market through the first five months of 2026. Elevated mortgage rates and ongoing affordability challenges continued to weigh on single-family construction across much of the country, while multifamily permitting remained comparatively stronger, supported by gains in several regions despite continued weakness in parts of the South.

Economics

Jul 14, 2026

Inflation Cooled in June as Gas Prices Eased

Inflation slowed to 3.5% in June from a three-year high last month, driven by a mid-June ceasefire agreement that stabilized oil markets and lowered energy prices.