Roofing Contractor – Homeowner Report

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Every figure includes its question wording and base size, with study methodology and fieldwork details included in the report.
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A finding from this report
Contractors advertise where homeowners aren't looking.
Social media is the channel roofing contractors lean on hardest. It is the channel homeowners are least likely to use. Both audiences were asked in the same study, six weeks apart — and the answers do not line up.
How homeowners find a roofer
Top 5 · n=127
Word of mouth74%Company used before62%Search engine50%Home services site27%Social media25%
Where contractors advertise
Top 5 · n=199
Social media70%Word of mouth55%Repeat clients53%Google Ads49%Home services site42%
Social media is the contractors' number one channel at 70% — and the homeowners' last at 25%. Word of mouth is the inverse: first among homeowners, second among contractors.
QH100. How would you go about finding a roofing contractor to perform work at your home or another home you help manage? Select all that apply.  Q400. How does your company currently advertise your roofing services? Select all that apply.
Homeowners n=127, fielded Aug 5–7, 2025. Contractors n=199, fielded July 9–28, 2025. The two questions are asked of different audiences and are not a like-for-like pair; rankings are compared, not the individual figures. Top 5 of 11 responses shown. Source: myCLEARopinion Insights Hub & Roofing Contractor.
That's one chart out of twenty-two.
The full study puts homeowner expectation against contractor practice at every stage of the job — response times, pricing, payment, warranties and service agreements.
Four more numbers from the study
65%
of homeowners are more likely to call a contractor whose pricing is on the website. A third of contractors publish none.
66%
gather exactly three quotes before hiring. Not two, not five — three is the number to plan the bid against.
62%
call online reviews very or extremely important when deciding which roofing contractor to use.
#1
Reputation outranks every other selection factor. Low cost places fifth, behind materials, licensing and warranty.
What we're not showing here
The rest of the study is the part you actually run the business on. Every one of these is charted for homeowners and contractors, side by side, with base sizes and question wording.
Pages 15–17
The three clocks
Callback time, arrival time and lead time to start — what homeowners accept against what contractors actually deliver. One of the three is badly misread by the trade.
Pages 19–20
Service agreements
How many homeowners want one, the annual price band they will actually pay, and the nine coverage items ranked against what contractors currently include.
Page 18
How they want to pay
Ranked payment preference against what contractors accept. The financing gap is wider than anyone offering financing would like.
Pages 21–22
Who picks the products
How much say the homeowner keeps over brand choice, and the full ten-factor selection ranking split by first, second and third place.
Pages 10 & 27
Solar and switching
Current roof types, appetite for solar shingles and tiles, and the seven things that would move a homeowner off the material they have.
Pages 23–26
Contact and attach rates
Preferred channel and mode of contact, roof and home age, and which thirteen add-on products actually got offered at the last replacement.
28 pages · 326 respondents · two audiences
Stop guessing what the homeowner wants.
Ask them, and ask 199 contractors the same questions. That is what this study is. Every chart carries its base size, question wording and field dates.
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Who was surveyed
199
U.S. roofing contractors
Sourced from Roofing Contractor subscribers, the myCLEARopinion panel, and an independent third-party partner panel to keep the sample representative. Fielded July 9–28, 2025.
127
U.S. homeowners
myCLEARopinion panel members involved in roofing decisions at their own home or one they manage, drawn evenly across all four U.S. regions. Fielded August 5–7, 2025.
Closed-ended data is tabulated in SPSS. Base sizes are reported question by question as “n=xx”; bases of 30 or more are treated as statistically reliable and bases under 15 are read directionally only. Statistical significance is flagged at a 90% confidence level, and significant differences between response options are marked on every chart.

What's in the report

28 pages · table of contents
Study Overview
3–5
Roofing Customer Journey: Homeowners and Contractors
6
Homeowner Profile
7–9
Types of Roofs
10
Seeking Out a Contractor
11
Online Reviews
12
Pricing Transparency
13
Homeowner Number of Quotes & Contractor Visit Fee
14
Initial Response Time
15
Arrival Response Time
16
Lead Time
17
Payment Types
18
Service Agreement
19
Service Agreement Coverage
20
Product Selection Influence
21
Roofing Company/Contractor Selection
22
Preferred Method of Communication
23
Preferred Means of Communication
24
Age of Home and Roof
25
Add-On Products Offered
26
Drivers to Switching Roof Material
27
Contact Us
28

Frequently asked questions

How do homeowners find a roofing contractor?

Overwhelmingly by asking someone. Among 127 U.S. homeowners surveyed in August 2025, 74% said they would find a roofer through word of mouth or a recommendation, 62% would go back to a company they had used before, and 50% would use a search engine. Social media came far down the list at 25%.

How many quotes do homeowners get before hiring a roofer?

Three is the clear standard. 66% of homeowners said they would gather three quotes before choosing a roofing company. Just 27% would stop at two, and only 5% would collect five or more. The report pairs this with whether contractors charge a fee to come out and assess the roof.

Should roofing contractors put prices on their website?

The homeowners say yes. 65% are more likely to take the next step with a contractor whose pricing is listed on their website, and almost none — 1% — are put off by it. A third of contractors still publish no pricing at all, which the report breaks out by company size.

What do homeowners look for when choosing a roofing company?

Reputation first, price much later. Years of experience and reputation ranked as the single most important factor, ahead of quality of materials, professional licensing and long-term warranty. Low cost placed fifth. The full ten-factor ranking, split by first, second and third choice, is on page 22.

Do online reviews matter for roofing contractors?

Yes, and more than most trades assume. 62% of homeowners rated online reviews very or extremely important when deciding which roofing contractor to use, and only 1% called them not at all important. The report also shows how many contractors actually surface reviews on their own website.

How fast do homeowners expect a roofing contractor to respond?

Less urgently than the trade believes — which is itself the finding. The report measures three separate clocks: time to return the first inquiry, time to arrive and inspect, and lead time from accepted quote to work starting. Homeowner expectation and contractor practice are charted side by side for each, on pages 15 to 17.

Who was surveyed, and when?

199 U.S. roofing contractors, fielded July 9–28, 2025, and 127 U.S. homeowners involved in roofing decisions, fielded August 5–7, 2025. Contractor sample was drawn from Roofing Contractor subscribers, the myCLEARopinion panel and an independent third-party partner panel. Every chart carries its own base size and question wording.

Who should buy this report?

Roofing contractors benchmarking their own process against what homeowners actually expect; manufacturers and suppliers who need to know how much say the homeowner keeps over brand choice; and marketing teams deciding where the next dollar of promotion goes.

  • This comprehensive report, conducted by Roofing Contractor and myCLEARopinion Insights Hub, delves into the thoughts and expectations of homeowners regarding the roofing consumer journey. It provides valuable insights into homeowners' preferences, decision-making processes, and expectations from roofing contractors. Additionally, the report examines current practices and offerings from contractors to see how well they align with homeowner expectations. By downloading this report, you will gain a deeper understanding of the roofing market from both consumer and contractor perspectives, enabling you to identify gaps, enhance services, and better meet customer needs.

  • This report is essential for a diverse range of professionals and stakeholders in the roofing and construction industries, including:

  • Roofing Contractors: To understand homeowner expectations and improve service offerings.

  • Manufacturers and Suppliers: To align product development with market needs and contractor practices.

  • Business Strategists and Consultants: To identify opportunities for growth and innovation in the roofing sector.

  • Financial and Insurance Professionals: To understand pricing and financing expectations in the roofing market.

  • Marketing and Sales Teams: To develop targeted strategies that resonate with both homeowners and contractors.

  • The key objectives for this study are to:

  • • Gather information from Homeowners that can better equip roofing Contractors

  • o Important attributes in the company/contractor selection decision

  • o Pricing and financing expectations

  • o Insight into the purchase process

  • o Gauge Contractor thoughts on the topics above to compare and contrast to Homeowner expectations

  • Contractors:

  • Online surveys completed with active, qualified subscribers of Roofing Contractor, myCLEARopinion panel members, and members of an independent third-party partner panel, who identify as roofing contractors and are involved with one of the evaluated roofing product categories. Data collected July 9-28, 2025.

  • Homeowners:

  • Online surveys completed with members of the myCLEARopinion panel who are involved in decisions surrounding roofing at their residence or another residence they manage. Data collected August 5-7, 2025.

  • We use SPSS, a statistical software package, to tabulate all closed-ended numerical data, while open-ended questions are either summarized, coded, or included as written by respondents. Data is presented in graphic and tabular formats, detailing the number of respondents for each question. Sample sizes may vary throughout the report due to skip logic, data cleaning, or missing responses, and some totals may not equal 100% due to rounding. Key metrics include the mean (arithmetic average) and median (middle value of responses). Net values, such as top 2 box scores, may not match individual percentages due to rounding. Sample sizes are indicated as “n=xx,” with sizes of 30 or more considered statistically reliable, while those below 15 are interpreted directionally. Statistical significance is highlighted at a 90% confidence level, showing results that are likely not due to chance. Significant differences between response options are clearly indicated in the report.

2026Roofing
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