December 8, 2025
Builder Town Hall Finale: Lessons for 2026 From Five Years of “Heart + Smart”
When we started Builder Town Hall back in 2020, it was an emergency meeting for an industry in crisis. What began as a “temporary” Zoom call to steady the ship during COVID turned into a five-year livestream series, 72 episodes strong, and a community that felt more like family than a show.
For our final 2025 episode, Kerry, Angela, and I wanted to do more than say goodbye. We wanted to give you a market snapshot, a people-first reset, and a mindset check as you head into 2026.
Here are the four key takeaways from the finale and how you can put them to work in your sales, marketing, and leadership right now.
I. The Market Is Talking. Are You Listening?
The first theme from our conversation was simple: the market is sending signals. Your job is to pay attention.
- The sales pace of Quick move-in homes is slowing down. Homes that used to “fly off the shelf” are sitting longer, even with incentives. In many markets, the real issue is not how loud the promotion is, but how the price and monthly payment feel at today’s rates. Meanwhile, we’re seeing renewed interest in to-be-built homes from buyers who want more control, more personalization, and more time to plan.
- Luxury is holding, payment-sensitive price points are not. Higher-end and luxury segments still have activity because these buyers are less payment-sensitive. The real stress is in the ranges where every $50 in the monthly payment matters. That’s where shoppers hesitate, re-run the math, and delay decisions.
- January traffic is your early warning system. Every year, January brings a surge of web traffic from people who have just spent the holidays thinking, “I cannot do another year in this house.” If that spike is weak, pay attention. It can signal a slower year ahead and gives you an early opportunity to adjust your messaging, promotions, and digital strategy before the spring selling season.
What to do with this insight:
- Watch your website analytics closely in Q1, especially traffic to quick move-in vs. to-be-built plans.
- Re-evaluate your messaging for specs: are you just shouting discounts, or are you clarifying the value and payment story?
- Segment your strategy: one approach for payment-sensitive buyers, another for higher-end/luxury prospects.
II. Culture Is Your Most Undervalued Sales Strategy
Kerry brought us back to something that gets overlooked in tough times: your people and culture.
Sales is not a department. Sales is a culture.
You don’t “fix sales” with one more script, one more incentive, or one more push. You build a sales culture by investing in your people and how they show up every day, for buyers and for each other. Your team members are not interchangeable; they are your most critical human assets.
You don’t “fix sales” with one more script, one more incentive, or one more push. You build a sales culture by investing in your people and how they show up every day, for buyers and for each other. Your team members are not interchangeable; they are your most critical human assets.
Your “wall words” need a refresh.
Most builders have values, promises, or taglines on the wall: “Customer First,” “Quality Craftsmanship,” “Do the Right Thing.” But every time someone joins or leaves, your culture shifts a little. If you never revisit those words, they fade into background noise.
Ask yourself:
- Are our values actively taught, modeled, and reinforced, or are they just framed on a wall?
- Do new hires understand what those words look like in a sales presentation, in a design center meeting, or in a tough pricing conversation?
Big change happens through small habits.
Culture is built in micro-moments: how you debrief after a tough month, how you talk about buyers when they’re not in the room, what you celebrate in meetings. It’s not one big retreat; it’s what happens every Tuesday.
Where to start:
- Revisit your values with your team and ask, “What does this look like in action with a buyer?”
- Build in simple, consistent rhythms: coaching sessions, role plays, “wins of the week,” and peer shout-outs.
- Protect your people. The market is heavy; your job is to be a leader who gives them tools and encouragement, not just pressure.
III. From “Checking In” to Truly Tuning In
Angela shifted the spotlight to the buyer experience, from website to onsite to follow-up.
Stop ambushing buyers online.
If your homepage is a wall of pop-ups—chat, email capture, incentive banners—before a shopper has even scrolled, you’re starting the relationship with friction, not trust. Ask: “Does our website invite people in, or does it ambush them?”
Onsite is not a repeat of your website.
By the time buyers walk through your door, they’ve already seen floor plans, photos, and pricing. If your onsite experience is just a live reading of your website, you’re adding no value.
Buyers want you to connect the dots:
- From features to outcomes
- From square footage to lifestyle
- From interest rate anxiety to a plan and a path forward
Use your CRM as your modern recipe box.
The magic in follow-up isn’t more touches; it’s more relevance. That only happens when you capture what matters:
- What did they light up about during the tour?
- Who will live in the home? Kids? Pets? Multigenerational family?
- What did they say about timing, payment, or location?
“When you log those details, your follow-up shifts from ‘just checking in‘ to ‘I was thinking about you and found something that might help.’”
“You don’t build connections by checking in; you make connections by tuning in.” Angela McKay
Practical ways to tune in:
- Reference specific moments from their visit: “You smiled when we walked into that kitchen with the island. I pulled a few photos of a similar home we just closed, so you can see how another family used the space.”
- Offer perspective, not pressure: “Rates moved a bit this week. Here’s what that would actually look like on your estimated payment.”
- Add value even when they’re not ready: Share a moving checklist, local school or dog park guide, or a simple “what to expect” timeline for building a home.
4. Mindset for 2026: Don’t Unpack in the Ditch
I wrapped up our finale with something very real: there are seasons when mindset is hard. Markets are choppy. Health issues and life situations happen. Motivation feels thin.
The point is not to pretend everything is great. I learned this concept from the amazing Amy Druhot: “If you find yourself in the ditch of life, find a friend who will get in the ditch with you, but won’t allow you to unpack and settle in.”
A couple of questions to ask yourself and your team about your attitude and mindset:
- “Is this mindset serving me?”
- “Is it serving my buyers, my team, and my family?”
If the answer is no, it’s time for a reset.
Tiny Bravery Counts Towards Getting Out of the Ditch:
You don’t need a life overhaul. You need small acts of courage:
- Take on a new challenge that stretches your skills
- Learn something that scares you a little (hello, AI and new tech)
- Do a quiet act of service for someone on your team or in your community
- Reading a book that pushes your thinking instead of numbing it
Growth rarely happens on the mountaintop. It occurs in the valley, in the messy middle, in the days when you show up anyway. And when you are in a mountaintop season, that’s your cue to reach back and pull someone else up.
A Final Thank You From the Builder Town Hall Team
Over five years and 72 episodes, Builder Town Hall became so much more than a livestream. It became a place where home building leaders, marketers, and sales pros could gather for honest conversations, practical ideas, and a reminder that you are not alone in this industry.
Our promise from day one was simple: every episode would deliver at least one takeaway you could use immediately. Heart + smart. People first, tactics second.
That promise doesn’t end here.
As we close the Builder Town Hall chapter, we’re turning our energy toward new ways to support you—with fresh content, training, and resources from Meredith Communications.
You can watch the final 2025 Builder Town Hall replay here: https://mcomm.cc/BTH-DEC25-YT
Thank you for showing up, asking questions, sharing the show with friends, and letting us be part of your professional journey. We’re cheering you on as you lead your teams, serve your buyers, and step into 2026 with renewed clarity and confidence.
Categorised in: Builder Town Hall, Customer Experience, Home Builder Marketing & Sales, Personal Development, Self Care
