New home sales rise despite persistent affordability challenges

Washington, D.C.—New home sales improved in August, but the monthly gain masks continued weakness in the broader new-home market, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Elevated mortgage rates and ongoing affordability challenges continue to constrain demand. Sales remain below last year’s pace and year-to-date sales trail 2025 levels.

Sales of newly built single-family homes increased 6.4% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 684,000. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and U.S. Census Bureau reported the latest figures following an upwardly revised July estimate.

The pace of new home sales was 2% lower than a year earlier. “The gain in new home sales is encouraging, but affordability remains a challenge,” said Bill Owens, chairman of the NAHB and a home builder and remodeler from Worthington, Ohio. “Sales are still down year over year and year to date and builders continue to use incentives and pricing adjustments to support buyers as limited existing-home inventory helps sustain the new-home market.”

A new home sale occurs when a buyer signs a sales contract or submits a deposit. The home can be at any stage of construction, including not yet started, under construction or completed.

“While the monthly increase in sales is a positive development, housing demand remains sensitive to higher mortgage rates and broader macroeconomic conditions,” said Danushka Nanayakkara-Skillington, NAHB assistant vice president for forecasting and analysis. “A sustained improvement in affordability, particularly through lower financing costs, would provide a stronger foundation for housing demand going forward.”

The August reading of 684,000 units also accounts for seasonal effects. The figure represents the number of homes that would sell if the August pace continued for 12 months.

New single-family home inventory remained unchanged from July at 483,000 units. Inventory fell 2% from a year ago.

That represents an elevated 8.5 months’ supply at the current sales pace. Completed, ready-to-occupy inventory totaled 112,000 homes in August.

The combined inventory of resale and new homes represented a 5.3-month supply at the current sales pace.

The median new home sales price increased 0.4% from July to $393,700. The median price fell 5.8% from a year ago.

On a year-to-date basis, new home sales fell 0.6% in the Midwest, 1% in the South and 10% in the West. Sales remained unchanged in the Northeast.

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Tuesday Tips: Celebrate progress, not perfection

Dalton—The World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) released a new “Tuesday Tips” this week. In the series, WFCA experts present short video tips for improving customer service and optimizing staff performance. In the end, it’s all about understanding the importance of doing 100 things just 1% better than your competition.

In this week’s Tuesday Tips, Tom Jennings, retail training expert, shares a simple reminder: celebrate progress when you see it. When someone new gets something mostly right, encouragement can help build confidence and reinforce the behavior you want to see.

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TrueTouch celebrates Predator collection launch

New Smyrna Beach, Fla.—TrueTouch Floors celebrated the nationwide launch of its Predator MonoTechnology (MonoTech) collection with a beach cleanup and launch party here.

The event brought together flooring industry leaders, distributors and members of the local community. Attendees included industry veteran Ralph Boe and his wife, Nancy; Kirby Jones, vice president of sales and marketing for Reader’s Wholesale, and Jud Hurt, president of Ohio Valley Flooring; Marty Piore, vice president of business development for Ohio Valley Flooring and Mike Lane, territory sales manager, William M. Bird. New Smyrna Beach Mayor Fred Cleveland and Tess Sailor-Tynes, conservation science coordinator for the Marine Discovery Center, also joined the celebration.

The Predator collection highlights TrueTouch’s partnership with 4ocean and its efforts to combat plastic pollution. The collection’s marketing portrays plastic as the predator while positioning MonoTech as an alternative to plastic-based waterproof flooring.

Like other MonoTech products, Predator is PVC-free, plastic-free and 100% waterproof throughout. TrueTouch manufactures the collection using real wood and natural oils. The company also positions Predator as a competitively priced option in the waterproof flooring category.

Waterproof flooring meets sustainability

Through its partnership with 4ocean, TrueTouch removes 1 pound of plastic and debris from oceans and coastlines for every 100 square feet of flooring sold.

“This was probably the most exciting product launch we’ve done so far,” said Josh McGrane, managing partner at TrueTouch Floors. “Predator is going to be a huge success for TrueTouch and for all of our distributors, because the color line is incredibly beautiful and the marketing surrounding it is very impactful. It really draws you in and gives you a reason to buy.”

The celebration included a beach cleanup, where guests competed for prizes in two categories: Most Trash Collected and Strangest Item Found. TrueTouch also hosted guests in a private beach cabana for barbecue, drinks and cornhole.

Cleveland thanked the company for its involvement in the community. He expressed pride in having TrueTouch, “a company with a global supply chain and a national reach,” based in New Smyrna Beach.

TrueTouch also donated to the Marine Discovery Center, a local nonprofit organization focused on marine education and conservation. The organization works to restore and protect the Indian River Lagoon.

The donation reflected TrueTouch’s appreciation for its hometown, which is known as the Shark Bite Capital of the World. The distinction also connects to the shark imagery featured in Predator’s marketing.

“We’re celebrating the commitment of our distributors and their recognition of our efforts in this collection,” McGrane said. “We are so lucky to have the relationships that we have and to be able to work in a community that cares.”

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Laminate takes visual realism to the next level

Laminate flooring suppliers are not sitting idly by while the red-hot resilient flooring segment continues to gobble more market share—quite the contrary. While WPC/ SPC/LVT products may hold the upper hand in the waterproof department, laminate suppliers are seeking to gain a competitive advantage by focusing on the aesthetic attributes the category has to offer, as laminate designs strive to more closely match real wood, ceramic or other natural materials. (This on top of its well-earned reputation for durability, scratch resistance and performance.)

At the core of these efforts are advancements in digital imaging/ scanning technologies. These innovations, which also include embossing, surface finishing and proprietary manufacturing techniques, have enabled laminate producers to narrow the visual and performance gap between laminate and the natural materials the category seeks to emulate.

One of the most noteworthy developments has been the evolution of high-resolution digital imaging and printing technology. Earlier generations of laminate flooring often relied on relatively repetitive photographic patterns. Today’s manufacturing technology allows producers to create much more sophisticated decorative layers. High-resolution digital photography and improved printing systems capture extremely detailed characteristics of natural wood, including knots, mineral streaks, grain variations, color shifts and subtle imperfections. Manufacturers can then reproduce those characteristics across multiple designs and plank sequences.

This has helped laminate move beyond simply imitating generic oak or maple. Modern products can reproduce the visual characteristics of specific wood species and styles, ranging from white oak and European oak to walnut, hickory, ash and other popular hardwoods, even reclaimed lumber. Wider/longer plank formats further reinforce the appearance of a genuine hardwood installation. The same applies to ceramic tile, stone, slate, marble and travertine looks. Not only have laminate manufacturers achieved tremendous strides in mimicking these tile and stone visuals, but they have been able to achieve these popular looks via traditional plank formats—which is no easy feat. Suppliers have also been able to enhance visual realism by creating designs that reflect fewer pattern repeats. Rather than simply repeating a small number of photographic images, manufacturers can produce larger pattern libraries and more varied plank visuals.

For retailers, this is an important selling point because consumers often judge realism by looking at an installation as a whole rather than examining a single plank. Greater visual variation makes it more difficult to identify repeating patterns and gives the finished floor a more authentic appearance.

Capturing the look and feel

The latest innovations don’t stop at visual characteristics. Thanks to ongoing advancements in surface texturing, i.e., EIR, traditional laminate can more accurately reproduce the heft and feel of real wood planks. Manufacturers can now create textures that correspond closely with the printed design beneath them. This allows the physical texture of the surface to align with the visual grain pattern. A consumer may see a knot or prominent grain feature and actually feel a corresponding indentation or raised area.

Manufacturers are also getting much better at replicating other aspects of the genuine article—namely bevels in hardwood flooring planks. Four-sided bevels, for example, can emphasize the individual-plank appearance associated with hardwood. More sophisticated edge treatments can make laminate installations resemble premium wood products rather than a continuous printed surface.

Of course, none of this matters if the product doesn’t have the right gloss level. Innovations in surface technology enable manufacturers to manipulate sheen and/or finish to reproduce more naturally looking flooring products. For example, a matte or low-sheen surface can help replicate the appearance of an unfinished or naturally aged hardwood floor, while deeper texturing conveys a more aggressive wire-brushed or hand-scraped wood. Other finishes can reproduce the worn characteristics associated with reclaimed or distressed flooring.

Following is a sampling of some of the latest laminate flooring lines that leverage the aforementioned advancements and technological innovations to render more realistic visuals.

BHW: Waterfront

BHW Floors’ Waterfront laminate collection was crafted to be the centerpiece of a beautiful home with its eye-catching planks that span 87 inches in length by a broad 9 inches in width. Planks are accented by their four-sided, painted bevel edges.

Classen: PURA

Classen, one of Europe’s largest laminate flooring producers, demonstrates its expertise in the category with PURA, a high-end look without the high price tag. The product’s extra-long planks and highly refined synchronized surface structures are almost indistinguishable from real wood.

Engineered Floors: Empower

Engineered Floors extends its PureGrain brand to the Renew laminate collection. Currently available across two platforms— Empower and Restore—these core trade-up products feature the latest design trends with stylish wood visuals that are popular with today’s consumers.

Hallmark: Crescendo 

Hallmark Home’s Crescendo collection features TrueTouch Texture and 3D graining, delivering realistic oak visuals. The fade-free finish and waterproof locking system combine to reduce callbacks while its pet-friendly, scratch- and stain-resistant surface broadens appeal.

Inhaus: Landmark

Inhaus’ signature Landmark laminate collection offers trade-up opportunities for retailers. The product, which comes in planks measuring 50 inches long x nearly 8 inches wide, makes a bold statement in any setting. Popular styles include Norfolk, Scarborough, Snowdrop, Springfield and Ellesmere (pictured).

Johnson Hardwood: Bella Vista

Bella Vista is a high-performance laminate flooring that offers realistic EIR wood textures with AC5 commercial-grade durability. Designed for high-traffic spaces, it combines scratch resistance, easy maintenance and Välinge 5G Dry locking technology.

Mohawk: Sonora Rise

Sonora Rise, Mohawk’s latest addition to its popular RevWood Plus line, is designed to serve as a conversation piece in the home. Measuring 9 ⁷/₁₆ inches wide x 80.5 inches long, the new plank format is the widest RevWood board to date. The line reflects the aesthetic shift toward cleaner visuals and features the company’s signature GenuEdge pressed bevel technology for added realism.

Shaw Floors: Komondor

Komondor, a Pet Perfect laminate from Shaw Floors, features the timeless beauty of white oak, offering ultra-realistic wood textures in eight colors. Every knot and grain isn’t just seen—it’s felt, thanks to its embossed-in register (EIR) texture. Komondor brings elevated style and lasting pet performance to any space.

Provenza: Modessa

Provenza’s Modessa Laminate floors, modeled after some of its top-selling hardwood lines, features high-definition, 10-pattern design format for fewer plank repeats. Its EIR texture and an enhanced four-sided pressed bevel edge deliver the ultra-realistic luxury hardwood visual that today’s consumers demand.

Stanton: Nuvo Grand

Following the successful launch of its Nuvo Lux and Nuvo Max lines, Stanton Design ups the ante in realism with its new Nuvo Grand collection. The product is a hefty 14mm thick, including an integrated 2mm IXPE pad, and comes in two plank sizes: 5 x 48 and 8 x 60. For the finishing touch, Nuvo Grand sports a micro-painted bevel and EIR for added depth and realism.

Titan Surfaces: Legacy Grove 

Primarily known for its expertise in rigid core flooring—namely WPC and SPC—Titan Surfaces also offers an impressive array of laminate flooring products. Chief among them is Legacy Grove, a 12mm-thick laminate, which provides the heft and feel of a real hardwood floor but with the high-performance attributes of a laminate.

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Retailers React: What product/category has stood out for you in 2026?

Every two weeks, FCNews seeks out flooring retailers across the country to offer their advice on hot topics of the day. This week, we asked: What product/category has stood out for you in 2026?

Here are their responses:

“Engineered wood has seen an uptick. We feel this is likely due to higher budget consumers continuing with projects while the lower/mid-budget consumers are putting projects on hold.”

—Elise Lefebvre

ProSource Wholesale

Tempe, Ariz.

“Our RevWood Premier with Signature Texture technology is a fan favorite. We have it installed on our showroom floor with two colors that we stock year-round. We have been stocking them since they premiered, and people are in love with them. Not only the embossing but the definition of the coloring is replicating hardwood so well.”

—Typhannie Harker

Carpeting by Mike

Somerset, Wis.

“Anderson Tuftex has really stood out for us this year. Alluring and Indulgent have been leading the way in sales growth. It feels like customers are rediscovering an appreciation for high-quality carpet, investing in that soft, luxurious feel underfoot rather than defaulting to hard surfaces every time.”

—Bo Perkins

Broadway Carpets

Knoxville, Tenn.

“Carpet sales have increased recently, driven by the appealing patterns, styles, softness and sound absorption of higher-quality options—especially for bedrooms. Custom area rugs are also selling well alongside hard surface flooring.”

—Missy Montgomery

Montgomery’s CarpetsPlus Colortile

Venice, Fla.

“The waterproof laminate category has stood out for us. I think people are tired of getting all those micro scratches on luxury vinyl plank and word has gotten around. If customers do happen to ask for luxury vinyl plank, we also show them waterproof laminate, and since the price is almost the same, they like it better.”

—Don Lovato

CarpetSource USA

Albuquerque, N.M.

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Prepare for the worst—and still hit your goal. Part 2

(Part two)

In part one of this column (FCNews, Sept. 14/21), I talked about how a bleak mindset can negatively impact not only sales expectations but also performance. I recalled a conversation I had with another executive, a guy who has been in this business a long time, and he told me something I still remember to this day. He said he tells his sales reps the same thing at the start of every year: “Something crazy is going to happen every year.” None of us knows what it is yet, but it’s going to happen, and their job is to figure out how to hit their number anyway. Experience shows if you have already decided the market is against you, the end user feels it the second they approach you. People pick up on that whether they show it or not. As a result, you might present smaller or steer the client towards the affordable product and the low bid. Worse, you may even dissuade them from signing at all without realizing it. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

In this column, I will demonstrate how having a more positive outlook can have a tangible effect on actual outcomes.

Imagine a scenario where the salesperson at a nearby competing location refuses to let slower traffic color their outlook or mood. When walk-in traffic dries up, they don’t sit and wait for it to come back. They go get it. They search through social media and find the designers in their area that are remodeling beautiful homes, they’re sending email blasts and cold calling builders and restoration companies who need a good flooring partner. They are promoting themselves on their own social media pages, asking their suppliers for ideas and leads, and finding any dang way to make themselves the easiest person in town to work with. They are building a referral pipeline that keeps producing when the showroom is dead, because they’re actively building it. Same market, same headlines, and the same tariffs. One associate is becoming a product of their environment and the other is making their environment a product of them. The difference was never the market conditions.

That is the backup generator. The builder relationship you cultivated last spring is the sale that saves your fall. The designer who trusts you is the account that carries you through the quarter when retail traffic falls off a cliff. None of that gets built by a seller who spent the downturn explaining the downturn.

I’ll paraphrase one of our late, great presidents who said not to pray for easy lives, but pray to be stronger men and women. That is the entire mindset. You don’t get to pick the year you’re handed. You only get to decide whether you are resilient enough to hit your number within it.

The reps who win in the down years are not the ones who caught a break. They are the ones who planned for the break to never come and went to work anyway. They assumed the year would try to knock them off their number, and they built the muscle to make it up somewhere else. Different accounts. Different products. More line drives. That is a mindset, and it is one you can and should choose.

So, yes, assume there’s disruption on the horizon or even in the current moment in time—then go hit your sales goals anyway.

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Mark Botros is vice president of sales & marketing for Jaeckle Distributors, a Wisconsin-based flooring and surfacing distributor. A Dallas native, Botros is a second-generation floor covering professional with over a decade of management experience in distribution and manufacturing.

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Products offer performance and sustainability

Sustainability and environmental concerns continue to play a large role in the floor coverings industry. Adhesives are one of the areas greatly impacted by these issues, as well as compliance with environmental regulations. Today, products include features, such as solvent free, bio-based, zero or low VOC, recyclable packaging and healthier emissions benefitting both installers and end users.

Following are some of the products leading the way in sustainability.

Bostik

InnoStix PSA from XL Brands combines performance, versatility and sustainability. The product delivers all three with a USDA BioPreferred Certified (32% bio-based) pressure-sensitive adhesive designed for resilient flooring installations. Key benefits include aggressive tack and dependable bond performance; supports LVT, LVP, VCT, sheet vinyl, fiberglass-reinforced sheet vinyl and modular carpet tile; high-moisture resistance up to 95% RH; MicroSept antimicrobial protection; four hours of working time for installation flexibility; releasable and rebondable for carpet tile applications; solvent-free, low-odor formulation for occupied spaces.

Bona

Bona Quantum Flow is an easily pourable, one-component, silane-based wood floor adhesive designed for efficient installation and exceptional performance. Its smooth spreadability and strong green grab allow contractors to cover larger areas quickly, helping reduce installation time and effort. With a VOC-free formulation, in compliance with SCAQMD Rule 1168, the product delivers high-performance results with a formulation designed with today’s indoor environments in mind. Flooring can be ready for foot traffic and furniture in as little as one day.

Divergent

Divergent is dedicated to designing low-VOC, solvent-free, water-based adhesives that are not only safe for the end user, but also for the installer who uses them daily. These design features are not limited to only sourcing safe raw materials in the formulation, but include improving coverage, using recyclable packaging, reducing packaging and jobsite waste, and developing longer-lasting flooring systems. The goal is simple: Create adhesive technologies that meet today’s performance demands without compromising the needs of tomorrow. Divergent 574 Modified Pressure Sensitive Adhesive is smart, strong and safe.

Engineered Floors/Xcessories

Engineered Floors’ Xcessories Pro-Tac is a high-performance, modified transitional pressure-sensitive adhesive designed for modular LVP, LVT and hard-backed carpet. What stands out is its versatility: Installers can use it as a dry-set PSA with up to 12 hours of working time or a semi-wet set, while it confidently handles extreme substrate moisture up to 99% RH and pH levels up to 12. On the sustainability front, Pro-Tac boasts FloorScore and Green Label Plus certifications alongside an exceptionally low VOC profile of <11 g/L. Formulated with bio-based, mineral-abundant and post-consumer recycled content, it readily contributes to LEED v4/4.1 points for low-emitting materials.

Mohawk Performance Accessories

Performance Accessories V-One Multi-Functional Adhesive reflects a commitment to sustainability through product design and packaging innovation. Packaged in pails made with 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content, V-One helps reduce reliance on virgin plastics while supporting more responsible material use. In addition, the adhesive is Greenguard Gold and FloorScore certified and contributes to LEED building initiatives, supporting healthier indoor environments and sustainable construction practices. By combining high-performance installation technology with environmentally conscious design, V-One delivers a solution that meets the needs of today’s flooring professionals and green building projects.

QEP

QEP’s Spray-Lock Premium Eco Spray adhesives were born out of concern for the environmental impact of aerosol chemicals. These high-performance formulas provide sustainable adhesives in the flooring industry. Spray-Lock’s pure polymer technology offers a low total VOC content. Other sustainability features include: 80% adhesive/material use reduction; 75% freight reduction (1 pallet of Spray- Lock covers the same square footage as four pallets of trowel-based adhesive). The adhesive allows for 100% recyclability of its packaging, eliminating landfill contributions; immediately allows all traffic, including heavy rolling or static loads; and, most importantly, limits wear and tear on the installer’s body.

TotalWorx

TotalWorx RockHold Pressure Sensitive Adhesive is a versatile flooring adhesive engineered to support a wide range of installation applications, including LVT, LVP, carpet tile, fiberglass-backed sheet vinyl and VCT. Its strong, reliable bond and pressure-sensitive technology provide installation flexibility while helping contractors maximize efficiency on the jobsite. The product also features a low-VOC formulation that promotes healthier indoor air quality and supports sustainable building initiatives. By combining broad flooring compatibility, professional-grade performance and environmental responsibility, RockHold delivers a dependable solution for demanding commercial and residential projects.

Sika

Sika’s latest wood flooring adhesive formulation is SikaBond T-85, a multi-use, sound and moisture control hybrid adhesive that cleans up easily off the surface of hardwood flooring when wet or dry. This easy-to-spread product contains zero VOCs, solvents or isocyanates and helps contribute to LEED credits. SikaBond T-85 is also Clean Air Gold certified. Providing multiple solutions in one pail, it offers moisture protection up to 12 lbs. ASTM 1869 and 85% RH/ASTM 2170, crack bridging, and sound reduction for full surface wood floor bonding. Once cured, SikaBond T-85 features a tenacious bond, high elongation and permanent elasticity, allowing planks to expand and contract without damage to the adhesive.

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