From what you read and hear in the media, you may think that all the homebuilders left in this country would fill a modest ranch-style house. That’s not the case, however, and the International Builders’ Show went on as scheduled Feb. 13-16 in Orlando.

The drop in attendance from last year appeared to exceed the 10% decline announced by show sponsors. Still, most of the exhibitors whom I spoke with said they were relatively pleased with the turnout, invariably adding that they arrived in Orlando with pretty low expectations.

If you’ve never attended a Builders’ Show in a good year — say, three or four years ago — it’s hard to quantify the energy you feel on the trade show floor. The aisles are packed with people, and it’s difficult to make your way from one end of the convention hall to the other. 

Such was not the case this year. I missed the first day of the show because I had a business appointment elsewhere in Florida. When I arrived at the convention center a couple hours before the show opened the second day, a few of the exhibitors were worried about what the day would bring — or wouldn’t bring.

They said the first-day traffic of the show had been very light. That spelled trouble because the first day of any trade show frequently is the busiest. My colleague Tim Fausch described the first day as light by Builders’ Show standards, meaning that many trade shows would have been happy with the turnout.

Traffic seemed to build to acceptable standards on the second and third days. Several exhibitors used lines that I’ve heard frequently at trade shows: The quantity of the people wasn’t great but the quality was. The people here are the serious ones who really want to be here. Not a lot of tire-kickers came to the show.

With some notable exceptions, most of the bath-and-kitchen exhibitors were back in their booths. A few skipped the show entirely, and a few others took up residence in the newly designed Ferguson Enterprises/Stock Building Supply booth.

Asked when they expect the home-construction market to turn around, all the exhibitors I spoke with mentioned next year or even 2010. Not one was optimistic it would happen this year. One told me he didn’t think the market had hit bottom yet.

Exhibitors expressed more optimism about the residential remodeling market. Most believe remodeling will pick up this year. One exhibitor predicted that the bath-and-kitchen remodeling projects would be on a smaller scale than in the recent past because consumers are worried about their money. This prediction echoes a similar one made last year at IBS by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

Bath-and-kitchen product introductions most years at IBS tend to be modest in quantity and aimed at a lower price point. Products unveiled at the K/BIS tend to be gaudier and more expensive. 

I’ve noticed a trend in the last couple years that bath-and-kitchen product manufacturers have been showing more contemporary designs in their faucets and fixtures. The U.S. market is still predominantly traditional, to be sure, but European minimalism had recently been moving the needle a little.

This year, manufacturers understandably seemed to be hedging their bets in trying to appeal to as many potential customers as possible. Traditional, contemporary and “transitional” styles all were on display in the booths.

When I asked one faucet exhibitor my contemporary vs. traditional question, however, he gave me an answer I had never heard. He showed me a faucet that he said in one finish (chrome) appeals to contemporary tastes and in another (brushed bronze) more attractive to a wider range of consumers. Same faucet; different finish. To me, a faucet is contemporary, traditional or transitional based on its style, not its finish. This faucet looked contemporary.

Goodbye Orlando, Hello Vegas

While the home-building industry is in the dumps, another reason why enthusiasm seemed to be lacking at this year’s IBS could be location. This is the fourth, and final, year that the Builders’ Show will come to Orlando. Could be that some potential attendees this year were waiting for a change of venue.

Next year the Builders’ Show shifts to Las Vegas. The building industry may not be any better by then, although the Vegas location could inject some energy back into the show.

Bob Miodonski