Ali Wolf’s Post

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Chief Economist | All Things Housing | Labor Market Enthusiast | National Presenter

You hear it all the time – the new home market is outperforming the resale market, thanks to incentives. And it's true! These incentives range from mortgage rate buydowns to flex dollars, funds for closing costs, and options and upgrades. Zonda is the only company that tracks new home incentives on a community-by-community basis across the country. Currently, most new home communities offer some kind of incentive. The map below shows how incentive usage varies by market – the deeper the purple, the higher the usage. Key stats: -The markets with the highest share of incentive usage are Sarasota, Jacksonville, and Tampa. Markets with the smallest share of incentive usage are New York, San Diego, and Seattle. -Homebuilders in Tampa, Jacksonville, and Cape Coral average the highest incentive dollar amount at ~3% of the local home price. Colorado Springs, Cincinnati, and New York average the smallest dollar amount of <1%. -Interestingly, nearly 80% of move-up/move-down projects offer incentives, higher than both entry-level and high-end totals. This surprised me at first, but it makes sense – those looking to move up have likely already locked in a low rate so may need financial assistance to feel comfortable selling their existing home. Sarah Bonnarens Sean Fergus Tim Sullivan Karyn Bonder Kyle Cheslock Cameron McIntosh Keith Hughes Bryan Glasshagel Evan F. Susan Heffron Dan Fulton #housing #homesales #newhomes

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Daren Blomquist

VP, Market Economics at Auction.com

4mo

One thing to say for institutional/corporate sellers: they tend to be more responsive to changing market conditions than individual sellers. We see this on the Auction.com platform with our sellers, most of who are institutional sellers willing to adjust pricing based on market conditions.

Elie Rizk

Fintech | Big Data | Labor Market Data | Market Insights | Investment Strategy

4mo

Thanks for the great insights! It’s clear how these incentives are influencing the housing market. Interestingly, this trend is mirrored in the job listings for residential construction. Our platform, LinkUp Compass, shows that Tampa, Jacksonville, and Cape Coral are among the top 20 metro areas nationwide for active residential construction job listings, with Tampa notably at 7th place. Conversely, cities like Colorado Springs, Cincinnati, and New York have fewer listings. It would be valuable to further explore the factors driving this disparity and how these incentives are shaping both the housing market and the job market.

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Brian Barrett

Strategic Digital Marketing and Technology Leader | Aligning Brand and Business Goals with Data-Driven Insights and Scalable Solutions | Empowering Teams Across Industries to Deliver Measurable Growth

4mo

Thanks for sharing Ali Wolf. The data mostly aligns with how many consumers search for "new homes" on Google. Ex: Phoenix has 11% fewer Google searches month-over-month for "new homes" and many incentives, per your data. San Diego has only 4% fewer Google searches for "new homes" and relatively fewer incentives. Google search volume could be an interesting leading indicator to watch.

Thank you for sharing great information! I am a small business and put everything I can in every home I do. I offer as much as possible. I believe in serving my father in heaven so I provide the best home.Also all my worker’s are the same as me!We Love making homes for Christian families we believe in using are talents as we are blessed with! We have much competition and have to rely upon our father to help us to grow and move forward!Tips like these help guide us!

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Matthew E. Dustin

Public Finance Investment Banker

4mo

I hope to see you add the Omaha, NE market to this as it consistently produces 3,500-4,500 new starts every year

Michael Timmerman, CRE

Chief Market Intelligence Officer at Club Benchmarking

4mo

In Florida, incentives are not surprising as consumers consider the higher costs of ownership, including insurance and taxes. If the Federal Reserve lowers rates, it should boost absorption. However, in my opinion, this process will be gradual until after the election.

CiAnn Blue

Loves New Home Sales & All Things Real Estate * Readily Available for Coffee & Conversation * Happy to Bring Some Sunshine to Your Day!

4mo

Todd Tomalak just presented on builder incentives in his BPO Client Webinar today. Over the years, I've seen incentives go up and down. I remember when "the right incentive" could make or break a deal.

Michaela Gordon

Real Estate & Architecture | Founder of MG Home Chicago | Transforming Homes in Chicago & LA | Home is where life begins.

4mo

Loved this breakdown! It’s surprising how much incentives vary, but it makes perfect sense given the current market conditions

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