Global Residential Windows & Doors

Report Overview

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Through 2025, global demand for residential windows and doors is forecast to rise 3.1% per year to $130 billion. Going forward, market advances will be supported by:

• global growth in residential building construction from a low 2020 base, when government lockdowns and public health measures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic caused construction in most countries to decline
• global increases in average home sizes, providing more space for fenestration products
• rising income levels, resulting in the purchase of higher value products
• more stringent building codes and rising emphasis on energy-efficient products

Robust Growth Expected in India; US to Moderate from High 2020 Base

Through 2025, demand for residential windows and doors in India is forecast to increase 12% per year, the fastest rate of any major market. Growth will be driven by:

• strong increases in both residential and nonresidential construction
• increasing adoption of higher value window and door products, as consumers seek improved performance properties that low-cost aluminum products do not offer
• continued growth in household income levels and urbanization rates
• government efforts to improve the availability of affordable housing and to reduce the stock of informal housing units
• implementation of green building programs, such as the Energy Conservation Building Code for nonresidential buildings

Unlike in many parts of the world, residential demand for windows and doors was elevated in the United States in 2020, as telecommuting and generally spending more time at home, coupled with stimulus money, resulting in an increase in new housing construction and a surge in improvement and repair spending. Going forward, annual growth in both new construction and improvement and repair activity will slow considerably but remain elevated.

Improvement & Repair Applications to Gain Share

For the first time since the global recession a decade ago, improvement and repair applications gained share relative to new construction in 2020. This was primarily due to the significant increase in remodeling activity in the US, as well as the steep drop in new housing construction throughout the world in the early part of 2020. Going forward, improvement and repair activity is expected to continue to increase its share of the market due to:

• rising income levels, which will encourage homeowners to replace their old windows and doors
• building codes that will encourage the use of better quality windows and doors in existing structures
• declines in new single-family housing construction in China, the world’s largest market for these products

Regional Trends

Demand by Region

The global residential buildings market for windows and doors is forecast to increase 3.1% per year to $130 billion in 2025.

The fastest increases in demand are anticipated in the small Africa/Mideast and Central and South America markets, where growth will be driven by new housing activity and more windows being used per unit as average housing sizes increase.

However, the majority of sales gains will derive from expansion in the large Chinese market, which will account for 33% of all new market growth through 2025. While China is expected to see a decline in new single-family housing construction, the vast size of the country’s construction market will ensure large overall gains in net window and door sales, and increased spending on higher value products will contribute to growth in market value.

While the US will also account for a notable share of absolute gains, it will grow at a below average rate from elevated 2020 levels that resulted from a surge in improvement and repair activity in addition to rising new housing construction.

New vs. Improvement & Repair Demand

Global demand for windows and doors in new residential building construction is forecast to increase 3.0% per year to $74.8 billion in 2025, supported by:

• gains in housing starts, including in developing regions where governments are reducing the stock of informal housing
• rising income levels and increased rural-to-urban migration rates, supporting purchases of new formal housing units
• building codes that will encourage the use of better quality windows and doors in newly built residences

However, demand will be restricted by weak housing construction outlooks in Europe.

The global residential building improvement and repair market for windows and doors is forecast to increase 3.2% per year to $55.3 billion in 2025 due to several factors, including:

• rising incomes in developing countries, making home modernization and renovation projects more affordable
• a growing emphasis on energy efficiency, leading households to replace existing windows and doors with more insulative products
• replacement purchases to update the look of a home or to take advantage of new technological advances in efficiency or security

The residential I&R market typically accounts for a larger portion of window and door sales in developed countries, where higher income levels make it more economically feasible for homeowners and owners of rental properties to replace fenestration products.