- USA TODAY
BOCA RATON, Fla. – October 14, 2026 – As higher mortgage rates and affordability pressures reshape the 2026 housing market, newly built homes are increasingly competitive with resale properties on price, according to Bill Gaul, CEO of Builders Update and chair of the RESO Data Dictionary New Construction Subcommittee.
Much of that shift is driven by builder incentives. With builder confidence near a one-year low, roughly two-thirds of builders used sales incentives in September 2026, according to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Those incentives often include mortgage rate buydowns and allowances toward options and upgrades, which can narrow or close the gap between a new home and a comparable resale.
New construction also carries advantages that do not appear on the sticker price. Newly built homes typically come with first-year warranties and more energy-efficient features, from windows to water heaters, that can lower a buyer’s ongoing costs.
“When you buy a new home, you get warranties and energy efficiency you don’t get with a resale,” said Gaul. “Those things carry real value even when the price looks similar.”
Demand has held up in parts of the country even as the broader market has cooled. Buyers relocating for work still need homes, Gaul said, and many are weighing value more carefully with rates around 7.5 percent. He added that buyers should read the terms of any rate buydown closely, since many are temporary and still require qualifying at the full note rate.
Builders Update operates a national database for new construction used by more than 871,000 agents, taking data directly from builders and running quality-control checks before publishing. Its role, Gaul said, is to connect that inventory with the agents and buyers looking for it.
“New construction is getting real attention right now,” said Gaul. “It is often the better value, and buyers are starting to see that.”
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