Roofing contractors and the homeowners they serve around the country are in a marketplace evolving quickly due to major advancements in technology, changes to insurance philosophies and workforce strains punctuated by increased illegal immigration enforcement. That may be the good news. Economic uncertainty – exacerbated by outside pressures such as tariffs, supply-chain concerns and wars – lingers as roofers head into what is the peak season.

Helping them understand the challenges and perhaps even stay ahead of the curve isn’t easy or necessarily scientific. Yet, RC again delivered a nationwide survey with research partners Owens Corning to try and gauge the perspectives from homeowners about their roofing process, from start to finish. The results, gathered and analyzed by experts from myClearInsights Hub Research — the survey and research arm of RC’s parent company, BNP Media — identified several key takeaways that roofers need to know. 

The survey featured dozens of questions and circulated last summer. Respondents had to own their own home or have influence in roofing decisions at their residence or another home they manage. Full disclosure: each participant received a $10 gift card.  

Roughly 93% of respondents said they live in a single-family house, and more than half indicated a household income of $150,000 or more. The majority were men (76%), and the mean age was 58 years old. The majority of homeowners identified with being part of Generation X (1965-1980).

All four regions of the nation (Northeast, Midwest, South, and West) were represented at roughly 25%. Roughly 69% said their roofs have asphalt shingles, followed by tile (13%), synthetics (10%) and metal (9%).

IN SEARCH OF

Consistent with prior years of the survey, this year’s participants indicated they’re most likely to find a roofer through word-of-mouth and recommendations. Nearly three-quarters (74%) said they follow a recommendation from a neighbor, friend, or family member. About 62% said they’d contact a roofer they’ve worked with in the past, and exactly half said they use internet search engines. Home services websites and social media each accounted for about one quarter of all responses.

Compared to RC’s contractor survey data, it appears roofers may have some advertising kinks to work through. About 70% of all contractors said they advertise on social media. Well over half (55%) said they rely on word-of-mouth referrals to generate new business. Just under half (49%) said they rely on Google Ads to generate calls, as well as home services websites (42%).

Roofers are also using more local print media to spread the word (41%) over local television (17%) and radio (15%). For the first time, RC asked about AI searching services to generate leads and 11% of respondents said they used them.

Referrals are strong indicators of quality work and potential long-term customers. Online Reviews are another. Roughly 62% said online reviews were either very important or extremely important in their decision-making process. Just under 30% said it was important, and only nine percent said reviews were either not very important (8%) or not important at all (1%).

Those that do find value in the reviews share the news. More than 91% said they feature their own reviews from satisfied customers on their company websites.

PRICE AND TIMING

The desire for authentic input from prior customers also applies to the demand for transparency on pricing, according to the data. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of homeowners said they’re more likely to call a roofer who has pricing available on their website. That’s down from the 78% of homeowner respondents who said the same last year, and more in line with the data from two years ago (66%). About 34% said pricing made no difference at all to them in 2026.

About 37% of roofing contractors said they list starting prices or price ranges on their websites, and another 30% said they list pricing for specific services. Roughly 33% said they do not list any pricing at all.

Even with pricing understood, homeowners still want their quotes. The vast majority of survey respondents (66%) said they’d gather three quotes for roofing services. Another 27% said they’d seek multiple, while just one percent said they'd accept one quote. The majority of roofing contractors said they don’t charge fees to assess the roof.

Homeowner expectations related to response times are also changing. The bulk of respondents (56%) indicated an expectation to hear from a contractor within one to two days of initial contact. About 39% said they expected to hear from a roofer the same day, and two percent had an expectation to hear back within an hour.

Once they hear back, the homeowner’s expectations for results really intensifies, the data suggests. While just two percent may expect same-day callbacks, five percent of homeowners said they do expect same-day service or response involving a visit. That expectation number skyrockets to 58% within one or two days, the data shows. More than one-third said they expect a visit within three to seven days.

THE CHALLENGES

For the second consecutive year, contractor communications continue to be a leading pain point for homeowners. Most often, they prefer a phone call (56%) when reaching out to roofers, while contractors lead with email (90%), phone calls (79%), but also make texting, virtual meetings and website chats available.

Roughly one-third of homeowners listed unclear or unexpected costs, and a lack of transparency, as their biggest challenges when working with a roofer. Roughly 23% blamed poor communication/lack of updates, and delays. Nine percent indicated they had difficulty verifying stated roofing credentials.

CONCLUSIONS

What may be encouraging for contractors is that they’re already indicating changes to their workflow to accommodate some of the trends emerging from the data. In terms of responses Roughly 45% said they strive for a same-day response, while 28% said they’re ready to call back in under an hour. Another 14% said they’d respond in under five minutes, which was slightly higher than the number of contractors willing to go one-to-two days (14%) between initial contact.  

The number of contractors that committed to arrival times between one or two days matched the customer expectations exactly at 58%. Strikingly, roughly 21% of contractors said they’d arrive on the same day, far exceeding the homeowner’s expectations. Communication is also getting easier via texting and the use of customer portals into roofing CRMs where images, updates and messages can be shared.

All of the above builds trust, and when choosing between two roofing companies, about half of homeowners (46%) said it comes down to proven experience and roofing-specific certifications. About 20% said strong customer reviews and testimonials were enough, and 17% said it came down to the knowledgeable and professional sales rep. they met with.  

What’s a wild card? The explosive use of artificial intelligence (AI) by both Roofers and their customers is sure to have an impact this peak season. Roofing contractors have to be more visible to AI agents to generate leads, while also getting better at finding the right pathways to reach untapped markets through AI.

The use and implementation of AI is growing fast across all facets of the construction trades, and roofers report success using it to streamline marketing, leads, estimating, and scheduling.

There is also still room to grow and maximize opportunities as crews apply these tools in ways that actually work in the field. On active projects now, roofers can use AI to help reduce administrative burdens and improve operations with more accurate cost projections. But executing efficient timelines and cost savings still depend on strong workflows and skilled labor – which remains the industry’s biggest concern, whether homeowners know it or not.