Majority of Home Builders Report Slower Sales in Mid-April

HomeSphere is partnering with BTIG to keep our partners current on home building business trends as they relate to COVID-19's impact on the economy and our industry. This week’s survey represents mid-sized, private regional builders from 27 states.  

Our latest flash survey, compiled from April 10 to 13, showed business conditions remain difficult for builders as they adapt to preventative measures. A survey high of builders reported slower than normal sales, while a majority of builders are experiencing delays in obtaining building permits. One encouraging sign continues to be cancellation levels, which most builders reported as normal.  

To break down the numbers, 79 percent of builders reported below-seasonal sales rates (up from 70 percent), while 19 percent reported normal levels (down from 27 percent). Seventy-two percent reported that it’s taking longer to receive permits, while six percent were not able to obtain permits at all. 

This week, more builders also reported normal cancellation levels. Sixty-five percent reported normal rates (up from 59 percent) while 30 percent reported higher than normal rates (down from 34 percent). 

Other stats to know: 

• New construction: 50 percent of builders reported reducing their starts expectations (up from 49 percent last week), while 13 percent reported halting new starts (down from 18 percent). 
• Traffic: 91 percent of builders reported traffic at below-seasonal rates (down from 92 percent).  
• Operations: 19 percent of builders reported complete community shutdowns. 

This is the fourth survey in this series. See the trends broken down by week and region here.  

In all: 

We’re continuing to see slowed sales and operational challenges that are extending the construction cycle. Anecdotally, we also received a mixed report from builders on supply chain disruption — some builders have reported slower deliveries, while others haven’t seen issues.  

Interested in the full flash report?

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