Signals: What We're Tracking
Twenty-five years since its founding after 9/11, Homes for Heroes has returned nearly $200 million in rebates to first responders and other works across more than 80,000 real estate transactions. Its nonprofit arm, the Homes for Heroes Foundation, has awarded more than $2 million in grants to those facing financial hardship. More.
The typical builder started five homes and employed six people in 2025, according to NAHB's latest builder member data, with the numbers holding flat since 2013. Median revenue also held steady, at $3.7 million, with 38% of builders reporting $1 million to $5 million in revenue. See how your firm compares.
WSJ covered a 2BR/2.5BA custom home built in Raleigh, N.C., for $700,000 (plus $200,000 for land), well below the $1.32 million a N.C. builder said is average for new luxury builds. They kept square footage tight by eliminating the garage and hallways, then got smart with materials, using 4-by-12-foot fiber cement panels to fit 10-foot windows without horizontal cuts, and sizing rooms for standard skylights rather than custom. See where else they saved.
Custom homes cost about 12.6% more per square foot than spec homes nationally in 2025, the widest gap since 2011, according to NAHB's analysis of the latest construction survey data. But in four regions, that trend flips and spec homes actually cost more than custom; that gap was widest on the Pacific Coast, where custom ran $171 per square foot versus $227 for spec (excluding land costs). See the full regional breakdown.
