Builder Bargains

Why builders are slashing prices while buyers stay stuck on the sidelines

Splits and Caps Daily: Action for Agents

November 19, 2025

📈 Market Move:

Drywall Discounts

Homebuilders are basically running Black Friday early this year — and not because they want to.

41% of builders cut prices in November, the highest in five years. Average cut? 6%. And two-thirds of builders are tossing in incentives like rate buydowns just to get deals across the finish line. Translation: builders are hustling.

Builder confidence is still in the basement at 38 (anything under 50 = “it’s rough out here”). Even with mortgage rates easing, buyers are spooked — shutdown drama, job worries, inflation… it’s like everyone’s waiting for someone else to make the first move.

The weird part? The private sector is throwing mixed messages.

  • The Mortgage Bankers Association says new-home sales surged to their strongest pace in over a year thanks to lower rates + builder concessions.

  • Meanwhile, Home Depot is like “housing is slowing down, our sales are flat, and we’re cutting profit forecasts.”

So which is it?
This is what a transition market looks like. Data is delayed, buyers are jittery, and builders are playing offense with discounts. But every cycle like this creates openings.

For agents, there's one takeaway:
When builders start sharpening their pencils, your buyers get leverage. Go find the ones offering incentives, negotiate hard, and position yourself as the guide who knows where the real deals are hiding.

🌟Quote of the Day:

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

⚡ Quick Win:

Neighborhood Post: Snap a photo of a local park, coffee shop, or event. Caption:
"One of my favorite spots in [City]! What’s yours?"
Local engagement = relationship building.

🎉 Fun Fact of the Day: 

Living Large: 💎 A billionaire in Mumbai built a 27-story house for his family of six. They have more floors than family members. That’s not a home — that’s a personal skyscraper.

📚 Book Recommendation:

“Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience” by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi — If you’ve ever been deep in a deal, on a marathon listing day, or just crushing your to-do list and felt that weird sense of “time doesn’t exist,” you’ve hit flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi breaks down exactly what that is—and why it matters.

Flow isn’t just some feel-good buzzword. It’s the state where your skills perfectly match the challenge in front of you, and suddenly you’re unstoppable. For agents, it’s when negotiations feel like a dance, calls turn into conversations that close, and the grind becomes almost… enjoyable.

The takeaway: figure out how to engineer flow in your day, and you stop working harder—you start working smarter. Bonus: it’s scientifically proven to boost happiness too, which, let’s be honest, makes every Friday feel like a win.

Perfect for anyone who wants to turn the chaos of real estate into a rhythm you can actually ride.

Momentum is invisible until it hits — keep pushing.

What did you think of today’s edition?
Hit ‘reply’ to this email and let us know!

Reply

or to participate.