Real Estate Market Shift: Builders “Come Back Baby, I Love You”

Real Estate Agents are resentful, pissed and ignoring txts from home builders. Builders have a crazy look in their eyes and feelings of regret. The whole thing is playing out in social media like a daytime soap opera drama. The market shift continues to evolve and is hitting home builders hard. So, what the hell happened and where will this lead?

Before you say anything, Yes, it’s a pic of a Dump Truck lever, not a shifter.

Way back in the day, (Before Covid) builders gave realtors desk jobs in model homes to help with lead gen to promote and sell. They offered spiffs and bonuses to agents who brought clients to new home communities RATHER than double ending a transaction with their own listing. Builders were fighting for market share! But as inventory dropped, prices increased builders got greedy / saw the ability to increase profit and removed spiffs, promos and agents from the equation. They no longer needed agents – they were fine on their own. So the short sighted builders broke up with and dumped real estate agents – to go direct to consumer.

Top 5 Home builders sold a combined 205,939 homes last year. Per Builder Online

Not only did this work, builders flourished. Last year Builders started 1,133,145 homes, up 14% y/y from 2020, the highest amount of SR housing starts since the great recession Per NAHB. This is pretty shocking – especially when one looks at the price of lumber at that time. (but thats another post)

That’s what lead to this type of commentary from the newly “single” agents:

Builders like Lenar sucker punched agents and straight up stopped paying agent commissions. As you would guess, agents got resentful, spiteful and downright mean.

… And agents got short sighted as well – said some things they might regret. It got pretty chippy.
Now, as the market has cooled, interest rates have cooled demand and builder inventory is (gasp) available Builders are trying to woo back consumers and agents. They have inventory and need sales.

There’s no crystal ball to know what happens next – but this market shift is defiantly making some soap opera style lead gen drama from former lovers. I cant wait to tune into the next episode to see what happens.