Who Has to Sell Their Home?

In real estate, not all sellers are created equal.

Builders and homeowners may operate in the same market, but their motivations could not be more different. Builders are in the business of moving product. Their livelihood depends on sales velocity, balance sheet health, the cost of land and construction, the availability of capital, and most importantly the purchasing power of their customers. They are tied directly to the mechanics of the economy and must constantly respond to it.

Homeowners, on the other hand, function on a completely different wavelength. Each year, more than 4 million resale homeowners individually decide whether to sell, when to sell, and at what price. Unlike builders, they are not driven by quarterly earnings or inventory turnover. Their choices are personal, shaped by lifestyle, timing, and circumstance. This is why resale supply dominates the market year after year.

In 2024, new construction accounted for roughly 14.4% of all home sales, the highest share since 2005. That was significant growth, but it still represents a small portion of total transactions. Over the past decade, resale homes have consistently made up 85 90% of the market, underscoring just how many individual homeowners ultimately steer pricing and volume.

The difference shows up in today’s numbers. There is now a 4% premium between resale homes and new construction. Builders must stay competitive to move inventory, often relying on incentives and pricing strategies to keep deals flowing. Homeowners, by contrast, have no such imperative. With millions of independent sellers entering and exiting the market at different times, their collective influence outweighs any single builder or group of builders.

This imbalance reminds us of a core truth: it is not a symmetric market. The motivations behind supply are uneven, the forces behind pricing are complex, and no two transactions are ever quite the same. And through all of it, one principle still holds: location matters most.