America’s biggest homebuilders are feeling the slowdown. D.R. Horton says spring sales are lagging. KB Home is slashing prices to spark interest. And Lennar? They’re offering jaw-dropping incentives—up to $52,000 on a $400,000 home. It’s all part of a broader shift: buyers are hesitant, confidence is shaky, and affordability is stretched thin. As a result, unsold new homes are piling up fast—117,000 in April alone, the highest since 2009. Most of that excess is showing up in Sun Belt markets like Florida and Texas, where inventory is already bloated. The good news? It's deals galore out there.
Locally, there have been several builders that have gone out of business throughout Cape Coral, Ft Myers, and Naples. These builders have left their customers high and dry. Taking tens of thousands of dollars from owners and then disappearing mid-construction. There are hundreds of "Zombie Homes" that are stuck halfway between completion and poured slab. These homes sit in wait while the weeds grow and the rain continues to damage the unfinished home.
A slowdown of newly built homes is necessary as we still have hundreds, if not, thousands of Zombie Homes that need to get completed and they need to come to market.