Скачать или смотреть How Builders Are Distorting Home Prices

New construction home prices have officially dropped 16% since their peak in 2022. But when you factor in the massive incentives builders are quietly offering—like rate buydowns and perks worth another 16%—the real decline is closer to 32%.

Here’s the catch: because these incentives don’t show up in the recorded purchase price, it’s artificially propping up new construction values and keeping used home prices higher than they should be. Right now, the gap between new and used homes is only about $14,600. Without this builder strategy, used home prices would likely be falling much faster.

So the big question is—are builders helping stabilize the housing market, or just masking how far values have really dropped?