Four key takeaways for resale agents from the new-home market data.
What’s happening with new-construction homes? It’s always interesting to compare the new-home market to the resale market and see what we can learn. That’s why I’ll share four insights from new builds that can help your resale practice right now.
1. New-home contracts are following interest rate movements. The graph at 0:50 shows the number of new contracts. Of course, we saw an influx at the start of the year, and as interest rates rose, that slowed down. The biggest dips in contracts came when we saw large spikes in rates.
2. There is momentum in the new-home market. The number of contracts bottomed out around July 10, and since then, it has been steadily climbing.
3. Cancellations are still impacting sales. The chart at 1:50 in the video shows the number of new contracts minus the number of cancellations. The trend in the resale market means there’s still uncertainty. People are starting to re-enter the market, but they’re undecided.
4. Open houses might not get that much traffic. The final graph at 3:09 tracks the total traffic, which is the number of people who entered a new-home sales center in a given week. This has decreased consistently since the start of the year, and recently, it has flatlined around 400 to 500 people a week, which is still very good. However, the catch is that having model homes sitting around is a huge investment for serving foot traffic.
“Open houses might not be a magic bullet in this market.”
If these new-home sales centers aren’t getting as much foot traffic, open houses might not get as much interest either. This isn’t to say that open houses aren’t good, but they’re not a magic bullet—your time might be better spent elsewhere.
If you have any questions about these four takeaways or the industry in general, feel free to call or email me. I’d love to help.
