Prospects for the Use of Wood in Residential Construction in Brazil - First Results

This paper is an exploratory study that aims to evaluate the prospects for the use of wood in residential construction in Brazil. For this purpose, a survey about the evolution of the stock of wooden houses was conducted. Social, environmental and economic indicators, which could interfere with the flow of Brazilian residential construction, were analyzed. The first results indicate that the stock of wooden houses has had a discrete growth (1.42%, from 1970 to 2009), but the percentage in the total number of houses has decreased (13.6%). Supply for housing demand has been provided by masonry. The population increase and the GDP demonstrated correlation with the building of houses and the changes in percentage between materials applied to it. Masonry is the construction technique preferred by the Brazilian. Most potential consumers (60.8%) declared that they could live in a wooden house. The aspects that would negatively influence the decision of living in a wooden house concerned market value, durability, fire and insect attack; and positively, was the material, construction process and patrimonial value. The image of a wooden house may be a greater problem than the material.