This week on The Home Builder Digital Marketing Podcast, Joel Berner of realtor.com joins Greg and Kevin to discuss how examining current economics can help home builders understand new construction market conditions.
A balancing effect in the housing market is beginning after the unprecedented environment a few years ago. Joel says,
“…we absolutely experienced a large market shock a couple of years ago, and everything has just been sort of rebounding from that and trying to get back to a place of balance. So, it’s not that we’re seeing a fundamental decline in the housing market in terms of true demand. We actually see a large gap in the number of households that are forming every year and the number of new homes that are being built and the number of homes that are coming onto the market. So, there’s definitely an opportunity for this to become more robust and to match people to homes. But at the moment, really what we’re seeing is just a return to kind of more stable conditions.”
In these new conditions, home builder digital marketers should focus on helping home buyers understand that they can buy a new construction home. Joel explains,
“The challenge I think of marketing new homes is that people, in many places, don’t expect to be able to afford a brand new home. But the reality is that with the inventory challenges we’ve seen in the existing home market, there’s a gap for this kind of product. There’s a gap for a smaller home, a more affordable home, that hasn’t really been met by the existing home market.”
The choices for new home ownership are increasing, which is good news for home builders and buyers. Joel says,
“So, I think we’re going to see that this is becoming a reality for buyers that maybe wasn’t before. There’s more options that are affordable, more options that are smaller. We’re going to see a lot of excitement and a lot of juice in the market as we continue to go forward.”
Listen to this week’s episode to learn about how studying the present economy can help home builders know where, what, and when to build.
About the Guest:
A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Joel received a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from Baylor University and a master’s in economics from the University of Texas. Joel’s career has been focused on the intersection of technology and real estate, including stints as a Pricing Analyst for Airbnb and a Product Manager at Best Egg, where he launched a buy-now-pay-later product for residential rent payments. He has a passion for data-driven insights that guides his work at Realtor.com®, producing research content that inspires confidence in home buyers, sellers, and builders. He lives in sunny Austin, Texas with wife Paige and cats Lily and Lenny, where he enjoys playing golf and exploring the great outdoors.