Title Abstract and Settlement Offices NAICS 541191

May 21, 2025 - Home Builders Boost Incentives to Lure Wary Buyers

• US home builders are dangling more incentives to close deals amid a tepid spring home-buying season that is halfway over, according to The Wall Street Journal. Builders typically notch 40% of their annual sales during the spring, but mortgage rates that are stuck around 7% and a lack of affordability have reduced demand. Builders have increased incentives to bring buyers off the sidelines, including mortgage-rate buydowns, design upgrades, and price cuts. In the first two weeks of April, incentives offered by builders equaled 7.2% of the purchase price, up from 6.1% in January, according to data from John Burns Research & Consulting. Incentives are eating into builder profits during a season that usually sees few discounts, and prices tend to rise.
• The price gap between new and existing homes is narrowing, according to National Association of Home Builders analysis of US Census Bureau data. In the first quarter of 2025, the median price for a new home was $416,900, only $14,600 more than the median existing home price. In Q1, the median price for a new home declined 2.32% year-over-year; the median price for an existing home rose 3.38% over the same period. The average price difference between new and existing homes over the last five years is $26,700, and over 10 years it’s $66,000. The price gap between new and existing homes has been closing as tight inventories of existing homes have pushed up prices. At the same time, builders have reduced lot and home sizes and offered incentives to attract buyers.

• US apartment sales increased 7% year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025, reaching $30 billion, according to MSCI Real Assets and reporting by Multifamily Dive. The rise marked the fourth consecutive quarter of increased apartment sales. Single-property sales saw the most significant growth, rising 39% over Q1 2024 to $25.7 billion. While sales of individual apartment assets have returned to pre-pandemic levels, portfolio and entity-level sales remain below historical norms. Portfolio apartment deals increased 18% in the first quarter of 2025 to $4.4 billion, while there were no entity-level deals in Q1. MSCI noted that while US trade policy news cycles have had a whipsawing effect on public equity and bond markets, the multifamily market rarely reacts to shocks in a single quarter.
• The advantage in the US housing market may be shifting from sellers to buyers, according to The Wall Street Journal. Bidding wars are less common as competition over homes on the market has waned, which is giving potential buyers more leverage. On average, existing homes are selling for 2% below the asking price, according to Redfin. The reduction in seller pricing power is partly due to more homes coming onto the market. According to Redfin, new listings were up 5% in January compared to a year earlier. Houses are also staying on the market longer, creating an advantage for buyers. In January, the typical home sale had been on the market for two months, marking the most extended period since February 2020, according to Redfin. A healthy housing market is a demand indicator for interior design services.