August’s Builder Intelligence Report Suggests Low Interest Rates Helped Drive Sales
August 19, 2019
The latest Builder Intelligence Report, compiled by BTIG in partnership with HomeSphere, indicates that lower interest rates helped traffic and sales in July, with 51 percent of builders reporting a year over year increase in sales and only 14 percent reporting declines (the best reads of 2019 yet).
Researchers believe the lower mortgage rates are helping to drive customers into new home communities.
Highlights from the Latest Builder Intelligence Report
Sales and traffic. Both sales and traffic continued to improve with year over year sales orders increasing from 40 percent in June to 51 percent. Forty-nine percent of respondents also saw year over year increases in traffic, up from 44 percent in June.
Expectations. Thirty-six percent of respondents had better-than-anticipated traffic, while 12 percent saw worse-than-expected traffic.
Pricing and incentives. Pricing power slowed a little and incentive use rose, likely due to seasonality. Eighteen percent of respondents said they raised “most or all” base prices from June to July, while seven percent cut “some, most or all” base prices.
Input costs. Fewer builders reported labor or material costs increases (30 percent in each case) than last month, which saw 48 percent and 50 percent, respectively, reporting increases.
HomeSphere/BTIG Builder Intelligence Report
HomeSphere partners with the research firm BTIG to create a monthly report to provide our builders and manufacturers with exclusive and timely insights about the market.
To compile the report, we survey HomeSphere’s 2,600 regional and local home builders about sales, traffic, pricing, labor costs and other key industry metrics.
How to Get The Monthly Report
If you are a builder and would like to participate and receive the monthly report for free, request an invitation below:
