Parks Associates released an important first last week just before the Labor Day holiday when the Dallas-based research group reported that home builders sold $11 billion worth of technology products in 2004, with sales expected to increase another 10 to 12 percent for 2005.

The sales number includes the following products: home theaters, speakers, structured wiring, and home control systems. Although the $11 billion number is just a fraction of the more than $125 billion spent this year on consumer electronics alone, it represents the first time a home builder number was tracked.

Bill Ablondi, home systems specialist for Parks Associates, says the research group developed the number from data compiled from its 2004 Builder Survey. Ablondi is excited because the $11 billion figure can now serve as an industry benchmark that can be tracked and analyzed over several years.

The powers that be in our industry have tried for a decade or more to cultivate home builders as a channel for consumer electronics--and a valid research capability is just one more important element. Parks Associates has also formed a partnership with Hanley Wood to develop 2006 Builder Insights, a comprehensive study of builders’ sales of technology products and services.

From the article "Building The Builder Channel," by Steve Zurier

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