American consumers may be reluctant to spend as freely on their homes as they did before the real estate market imploded, but one area of home product sales continues to remain a solid investment: wood flooring. A recent survey showed that 90% of real estate agents said homes with wood flooring sell better and for higher prices than those with other types of flooring and, depending on geography, realtors estimate a wood floor can add as much as 10% to the value of a home.

With numbers like that, even an economic maelstrom can’t crack the foundation of the wood industry. With real added value, good looks and a beautiful, natural product that enhances any home environment, the category remains a favorite with consumers.

In response to the energy and environmental issues at the forefront of public policy, coupled with new restrictions on illegal logging and imports, U.S. wood flooring makers are seeking alternatives to what they consider unnecessarily risky and expensive imports. With new laws governing the flow of illegally harvested timber into the U.S. market being implemented— illegal goods comprise perhaps as much as 50% of the wood flooring market, according to a U.S. International Trade Commission investigation—there is opportunity for American-made flooring to take market share.

In fact, one of the biggest trends in the industry right now is the re-emergence of domestic woods as a more stable and sustainable alternative to exotics and imports. Anderson Hardwood introduced the first imitation exotics, a collection called Exotic Impressions that has the look of exotics but is made from domestic species. Shaw’s wood division is also moving away from imports, as is Columbia. In addition, Mohawk offers an exotic look-alike line as a sustainable alternative to imports.

Exotic flooring remains popular, however, and a growing number of suppliers now offer Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) third-party certified products. Since domestic wood supplies come from sustainably managed forests to begin with, the National Wood Flooring Association ( NWFA) early this year introduced its own sustainable label initiative for U.S. suppliers—the Responsible Procurement Program— to close the green credibility gap with consumers as the public grows more aware of product sourcing issues.

While exotics at one point seemed ready to overtake the craze in rustic looks, that has not happened and the two categories are still generating solid sales for dealers. Rustics, it is estimated, make up at least one-quarter of sales, and the category is still growing. Technological advances and new surface treatments have allowed manufacturers to offer an ever-expanding range of looks and price points in the category, which seems to be popular in every region of the country now.

Also on the rise are high-gloss piano finishes along with increasingly sophisticated colorations in a broad palette that include dramatic dark glosses and mattes to tranquil, light oaks, always a classic favorite. One New Jersey dealer even noted that he is seeing a move back to basics like oak and maple.

With customer preferences returning to more basic tastes in these tough times, the old standby 21/2-inch strip floor is still around, but consumers today want to mix it up with wider widths and random-length boards. Five-inch-width planks are the most popular now with some selections ranging up to 7 inches.

Technological innovation is also enabling suppliers to develop increasingly better products in terms of performance with wider edging options and new glueless systems. Click systems are not just for laminates anymore.