Over the last few years, something subtle but damaging has taken hold inside many new home sales organizations, and it’s a shift many leadership teams are still trying to understand.

As finished inventory grew and margins tightened, leadership teams did what responsible leaders do: They responded to the market in front of them. When online traffic no longer translated into consistent onsite visits, the focus naturally shifted toward converting the buyers who were still showing up. Absorption mattered. Cash flow mattered. Momentum mattered.

But in that shift, onsite sales behavior began to change—not intentionally, but systematically.

From Discovery to “Just Put in an Offer”

In the past eighteen to twenty-four months, I’ve seen a consistent behavioral shift across onsite teams:

When a buyer hesitates…
When a decision stalls…
When uncertainty creeps in…

The default response from leadership and sales teams has been “Bring me an offer.” or “Let’s just put an offer together.”

Not as a strategic step.
Not as a confirmation of fit.
But as a shortcut to momentum.

This behavior mirrors something very familiar in the resale world.

The “Realtor Effect”

I want to be clear: I love realtors. Many are close friends and long-time partners.

But realtors and onsite new home sales teams approach buyer objections very differently, a distinction I’ve consistently observed recently while working alongside realtor partners who represent builders across multiple markets.

Over the last two months, I’ve spent time evaluating several new home construction teams that operate primarily through realtor-driven sales. One consistent pattern has emerged across every interaction: The primary objective is maintaining buyer momentum rather than resolving buyer hesitation.

Because realtors can sell virtually any home on the market, the path of least resistance is often to advance negotiations or redirect the buyer to another property rather than slow down for deeper discovery. If momentum stalls, the solution is rarely to reframe value, it’s to restart the search.

As market conditions have tightened, I’ve observed new home sales teams unintentionally adopting this same approach out of fear that hesitation equals loss. The difference, of course, is structural.  Realtors can move buyers elsewhere; onsite sales teams cannot. When that distinction is ignored, the sales process begins to work against itself.

And therein lies the problem.  Because leadership is asking their team to put buyers on paper and bring them deals, they are letting buyers control the process and ask for the moon, the stars, and the whole upgraded kitchen sink to boot.

The Cost of Speed Without Discovery

When offers become the primary tool of sales conversion:

•    Buyers start shopping deals, not homes
•    Conversations shift from needs to concessions
•    Negotiation replaces understanding
•    Incentives become the value proposition

Ironically, this often slows sales velocity instead of improving it, as buyers become emboldened by the incentive game and they start focusing on who can give them the best deal, versus the home that fits their needs the most. And I don’t blame buyers. Homeownership has become very unaffordable in many markets, and we know every builder in every market is offering some type of incentive.

But when our teams resort to the incentive game too early in the process, buyers don’t gain clarity, they gain options and uncertainty.

Familiar Pattern, Different Market

In early 2021, as the housing market was heating up to uncontrollable levels, buyers waived inspections, submitted offers above asking price, and made snap decisions because inventory was scarce. 

We all remember the post-COVID craziness in our sales and marketing meeting, when the problem was not how many homes we are going to sell this week, but rather, how can we slow sales down to ensure we make enough money for each house. 

Buyers didn’t purchase because homes were perfect, they purchased because inventory was scarce and availability dictated urgency. Today, that psychology has flipped, but the behavior hasn’t. Buyers are now conditioned to lead with one central question: What’s the best deal? When our teams respond by leading with incentives instead of discovery, we don’t challenge that mindset, we reinforce it.

This Isn’t a Sales Problem. It’s a Leadership Problem.

Most onsite teams aren’t underperforming because they’re lazy or unmotivated. They’re struggling because they weren’t trained to sell in this version of the market. They weren’t trained how to negotiate without giving away the farm, and they weren’t equipped to establish value before introducing incentives. When leadership anxiety rises, behavior follows.

What Buyers Actually Respect

Buyers respect clarity more than concessions. In a market crowded with incentives and competing offers, what they value most is someone who can cut through the noise, ask better questions, and help them prioritize what actually matters in their buying decision. They aren’t looking to be sold, they’re looking to be guided with confidence and intent.

That kind of leadership often feels risky. It requires resisting the urge to pressure, even when a deal might walk. But it’s precisely in those moments—when uncertainty is highest—that trust is built and real momentum is created.

The Shift Leaders Need to Make

If we want different outcomes in 2026, we need different expectations now.

That means:

•    Coaching discovery before incentives 
•    Rewarding quality conversations, not just contracts
•    Teaching negotiation beyond “price and incentives”
•    Giving teams confidence to push back, with professionalism

The goal isn’t fewer offers; it’s better offers that reflect what the buyer is seeking in their new home search.

Shinn Group is here to help. In addition to our robust management training curriculum, we offer customized consulting and coaching packages designed to help home builders implement strategies to maximize performance and profitability under any market conditions. Contact us a 720-509-8000 or info@theshinngroup.com for details.

If you’re ready to rise above the rest, compete smarter, and lead stronger, join us March 11-13 in Breckenridge, Colorado, for the 2026 Executive Summit. We offer a discount for multiple attendees so teams can attend together to maximize the return on investment: shared insight, shared accountability, and shared execution.

Mike Welty is a consultant at Shinn Group. He specializes in helping builders develop effective sales and marketing teams and create organizational efficiencies to maximize profit and alignment.