As the housing market continues to evolve, so do the strategies homebuilders use to reach, engage, and convert buyers. New technologies, changing consumer expectations, and an increasingly competitive landscape are challenging sales and marketing professionals to rethink traditional approaches.
These conversations took center stage at the Accelerate Summit by NewHomesouce, held October 12–14 in Park City, Utah. The annual sales and marketing event brought together some of the industry’s leading voices, including Zonda Chief Economist Ali Wolf, sales and marketing expert Jeff Shore, and CoStar Group Founder and CEO Andy Florance, to explore the trends, tools, and opportunities shaping the future of homebuilding.
The event also recognized marketing excellence across the industry, honoring Taylor Morrison’s Stephanie McCarty with BUILDER’s inaugural CMO of the Year Award.
From the growing influence of artificial intelligence to new approaches to understanding and connecting with homebuyers, Accelerate offered fresh perspectives on the challenges and opportunities ahead.
What you need to know
- 2027 forecast: More of the same, with some reasons for optimism. Zonda and NewHomeSource chief economist Ali Wolf forecasts that 2027 will bring more of the same challenges as 2026: staying in a “higher for longer” interest rate environment, starts and closings mirroring 2026 numbers, lower prices, and increased incentives. There are also reasons for optimism. Builders are excited about redesigning their products and strategies to better align with today’s home buyer, and they’re feeling positive about pent up demand.
- AI will reinvent virtually everything. CoStar Group founder and CEO Andy Florance wowed the audience with a live demo of the Homes.com AI tool using queries and conversations to conduct home research. The results were dramatic and provided a glimpse of the significant impact that AI will have on the industry. Florance said the explosion of technology in the new-home space “will allow the home buyer to visualize what doesn’t exist today, and that’s super exciting.”
- Forty-five percent of prospective buyers have used AI to help with buying a home. Users are bypassing traditional search by “offloading their research” to AI, but they still want information to be validated by reliable human sources…READ MORE
Read the full article from BUILDER magazine to see the top key takeaways from day one and get day two highlights.
Discover how homeshoppers search, shop, and buy
Keep the conversation going long after the Accelerate Summit. Zonda’s Homebuyer Outlook is a curated research report that tracks homebuyer sentiment, motivations, and shopping behavior—helping builders and marketers understand who is in the market, what they want, and what’s changing before it shows up in sales. With user metrics from NewHomeSource.com, Homebuyer Outlook shows you the real data from current home shoppers. Get your free preview today!
