Each month, Zonda surveys builders across the country to gauge sentiment around the housing market. This survey is intended to supplement our proprietary Zonda database by asking builders more qualitative questions. Our anonymous survey covers everything from consumer sentiment to broader macroeconomic topics like tariffs and immigration. Results are tracked over time and analyzed geographically to capture real-time shifts in builder and consumer confidence.
Our December survey didn’t reflect any major month-over-month shifts. Instead of our usual top three takeaways, Zonda highlighted the key trends builders identified as they closed out the year.
- Market reality vs. expectations. 65% of builders reported the market was slower than expected. However, optimism has slightly improved, with 9% reporting that said the market outperformed expectations. This was a jump from just 2.5% in November.
- Incentives holding steady. Financing remains the primary lever for sales. 42% of builders offered fixed-rate mortgage buydowns in the high-4% range, while 20% offered rates in the low-5%s—figures nearly identical to November’s data.
- A “three-way split” on costs. Builder sentiment on construction costs is nearly perfectly divided: one-third of builders reported year-over-year cost increases, one-third saw flat costs, and the final third saw a decrease.
The insights in this article were taken from a more detailed monthly review of the survey’s findings published in Zonda’s National Outlook.
