Top New Home Operations Tips For 2025

With 2024 wrapping up, what's in store for the new year? We asked some of the top industry experts for their thoughts and advice on tackling new home building in 2025. In an always-changing industry, getting the foundational elements in your business right is essential. The new year is a perfect opportunity to set and achieve new goals. Here are some tips to get off to a great start in 2025.

Matt Collins, The Mainspring Group
Focus On Predictive Metrics

As we look to 2025, homebuilders must move beyond traditional data collection and embrace the Imagination Age—a time where creativity, innovation, and actionable insights drive success. While metrics like Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are important, the focus should shift to leading drivers—predictive metrics that allow for proactive decisions and foster agility in a fluctuating market. Builders who prioritize real-time dashboards and invest in dynamic, forward-looking data solutions will position themselves ahead of the curve.

In addition to technology, the human element remains crucial. As buyers become more discerning, offering a personalized experience based on real-time feedback will enhance customer satisfaction and drive referrals. By balancing data with creativity, homebuilders can not only navigate challenges but create homes filled with purpose, dreams, and lasting value. Embrace innovation, and 2025 will be a year of growth and opportunity.

Emma Jane Wildermuth, Shinn Group
Control The Controllable

Dealing with the volatility of the housing market is a challenge for many homebuilders. The inevitable ups and downs make it easy for leadership teams to blame the market for poor company performance. However, the blame game is a trap that can prevent leadership from making necessary changes to ensure the organization is positioned to succeed under any market conditions. Rather than use the challenges of the market as excuses, use them as a catalyst to pivot toward innovative solutions for long-term resilience.

Here are three strategies for achieving success regardless of market conditions.

1. Evaluate where you are and where you want to be. Are you hitting your targets? If not, where are you missing and why? Do you know your market? Do you know your buyer? Are you building the right home at the right price?
2. Get your team involved in the solution. What trends are they seeing with potential buyers? What ideas can they offer to change or improve your product? Can your trade partners offer suggestions to improve the build process?
3. Take what you've learned from evaluating your targets and recommendations from your team, and make new decisions. Following the same path that got you where you are will not get you where you want to be.

It’s time to take control of the controllable to stay resilient and improve company performance.

Angela Gardner, Hill Electric, co-host of "Women Talk Construction" podcast
The Right Talent, No Matter What!

As we enter 2025 with bright perspectives and innovative ways to grow the residential sector, I want to focus on one skilled trade: electrical. The two areas that I have seen a need for in residential electric—heck, all of it, commercial and industrial—is talent: finding the best people for the individual project and adding talented people to the workforce. It's important to remember that a large part of the population—women—are looking for opportunities, and they come with incredible soft skills and ways to make all of us better on a project.

Ways to grow your workforce and include more women in the electrical field:

• Promote STEM education (see how Hill Electric does it)
• Offer apprenticeship opportunities
• Highlight role models
• Create a supportive workplace

You can also engage with industry associations. Seek ways to partner with groups that support Women in Electrical and other trade associations focused on increasing gender diversity in the industry. Check out my podcast with Christi Powell called “Women Talk Construction.” Also, your local Home Builders Association has a group called Professional Women in Building (PWB); check to see if your local HBA has a group or form it yourself. READ THE FULL BLOG

Eric Tiffin, TK Design
Make Sure Your Widgets Are Recession-Resistant.

Many home building companies get caught up in the day-to-day of their business and lose focus of their actual product. It’s not uncommon to see home designs that are five to 10 years old still being built. Design trends change faster than builders often realize. There's a recession coming; it’s inevitable. Now is the time to streamline your product to be sure you’re appealing to the right buyer and your operating costs are as efficient as possible. It can take four to six months (or even longer) to re-vamp your house plans, get accurate bids, and get them to market so you’re ready for the impending change in our industry. Take a good look at your plan portfolio now to be sure you’re ready.

• Are your homes designed to be cost-effective to build?
• Is your architectural process as streamlined as it can be?
• Do your plans create confusion in the field?
• Do your home plans offer the right elevation style, square footage range, price points, options, etc., to appeal to today’s buyers or to buyers of the near future?

You have some work to do if the answer is “no” to any of these questions. It’s time to roll up your sleeves. Don’t wait until your competition leaves you in the lurch.

Christi Powell, 84 Lumber, co-host of “Women Talk Construction” podcast
Building The Future: The Changing Landscape Of Construction

My thoughts on where our industry is heading in 2025 and, more importantly, why I'm so passionate about making construction a place where everyone feels they belong.

The changing landscape of construction: It's not just about building anymore; it's about building responsibly—we're talking about homes that breathe, materials that reduce our carbon footprint, and practices that might save the planet. Another area of change is technology. We're talking drones for site surveys, robots laying bricks, and AI predicting project outcomes. It's like we've stepped into a sci-fi movie, but it's real and making our jobs safer and more efficient. And finally, with government funding rolling in, there's a buzz in the air. More projects mean more opportunities, but we also need more hands, skilled hands from all walks of life.

The importance of diversity: I've spent years in this field, and let me tell you, it's not just about the physical structures we raise. It's about the community we build within our industry: Every time I've worked with a diverse team, we've come up with solutions I'd never have thought of alone. It's like each person brings a new tool to the job; together, we're unstoppable. Programs like ERiCA in California are not just giving women a chance but showing the world that construction isn't just for the 'typical' worker. It's for anyone with passion and skill. I dream of job sites where everyone feels respected, where your value isn't measured by how you look but by what you can do. We're progressing, but there's still a long way to go.

This industry is in our hands, and I believe in a future where construction isn't just about what we build but who we build it with. Let's make 2025 the year we not only innovate but also create a construction world where everyone has a place to stand, a voice to be heard, and a future to build. READ THE FULL BLOG

Joshua McMahon, McMahon Custom Homes, LLC
Put The Customer First

The homebuilders that will set themselves apart from their competition will focus heavily on customer experience. There is a misconception in our industry that customers are the people who are paying for the product. The most important customers to any business are our internal and external team, who create the buyer's experience. The shift I'm encouraging us all to make will improve our company morale and the customer experience and eliminate the revolving door our industry struggles with.

Erica Lockwood, Joseph Chris Partners
How Can Industry Leaders Make A Real Difference?

I've been pondering the future of our incredible homebuilding industry. With so much exciting change and innovation on the horizon, it's an inspiring time to be part of this community.

But I have a question for you: How can we, as industry leaders, make a real difference?

A strong leadership pipeline is crucial to the success and sustainability of our industry. Without experienced leaders to guide the way, we risk operational inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and a decline in innovation.

Often, companies opt to hire externally for leadership roles, assuming that experience is the sole determinant of success. While this approach may be practical in many scenarios, investing in internal talent through mentorship and training can yield significant long-term benefits. By nurturing and developing our own, we can foster a sense of loyalty, commitment, and a deep understanding of our company culture.

Unfortunately, many companies struggle to prioritize mentorship due to pressing business demands, rapid growth, or lack of awareness of their long-term benefits. By not investing in the development of future leaders, we risk hindering the industry's ability to adapt to change and seize new opportunities.

Here are a few ideas to address this challenge:

• Mentorship programs: Let's pair seasoned professionals with up-and-coming talent.
• Targeted training: We can create specialized training programs to develop future leaders.
• Leadership forums: Let's come together to share ideas and tackle challenges head-on.

I'm passionate about fostering a culture of innovation, sustainability, and excellence. Whether it's through writing, speaking, or simply sharing knowledge, I'm committed to paying it forward. How do you see yourself making a lasting impact in our field?

Roger Langford, Professional Warranty Service Corporation
Major Changes In How Home Builders Mitigate Risk

All signs point to 2025 being a year of major changes in how home builders’ risks are mitigated through third-party services that focus on customer care after the home is closed. Historically, home builders and their insurers have focused on risk mitigation functions, such as quality assurance and quality control, that occur during construction. There has been little-to-no priority placed on risk mitigation once the homeowner moves into the home, even though claims can be initiated up to ten years. The biggest, most costly, most time-consuming claims consistently come during the completed operations phase.

Nicole Landau, Landau Consulting
Look Out For Fraud In Construction

The residential remodeling market in 2024 faced some shifts due to economic conditions. Key drivers of the pullback included high mortgage rates and limited housing inventory, which have caused homeowners to become more cautious about renovation spending amid economic uncertainty. As sales slow down, it's important to identify and mitigate fraud risks in 2025. Here are several red flags to watch for:

• Inconsistencies in billing in change orders
• Labor expenses
• Discrepancies in Project Progress Reporting

These red flags are key indicators of potential fraud in construction. Companies can mitigate these risks with regular financial and documentation reviews, checks and balances, and project budget reviews. READ THE FULL BLOG

Kyle Lintala, BILT Solutions
Automate, Automate, Automate

Data automation has never been easier. The key is to let computers do what they do best (data processing) and your team members do what they do best (strategic, high-impact work). In many cases, there is a simple solution to go from hours of error-prone manual data transfer to a seamless integrated workflow.

Stop manually looking up information across system(s) and moving data from spreadsheet to spreadsheet—there is a better way: automation!

Once you’ve eliminated the burden of manually managing data, you’ll find that scaling will become effortless, and your data will be more accurate. Automated systems scale; manual processes typically don’t. Automated systems ensure data integrity, while manual processes remain prone to mistakes.

Get curious and question if there is a better way to manage data!

Scott Duman, ECI
Differentiate Your Business Through Customer Experience

There are several ways that builders can differentiate themselves from their competition. One way to do it is to elevate the customer’s experience.

What type of buying experience are you creating for your customers? Are you leveraging technology to offer them a content-rich process? Are you giving them the type of online shopping experience they expect in today’s world? Tools that provide elevated experience can provide a builder with improved margins, increased satisfaction, and referrals.

Measure the experience you are creating so that you can adjust and stay ahead of your competition. You can do this by surveying your customers at various points of the buyer’s journey. Compare yourself to industry benchmarks and work to improve constantly. This is another way to increase sales and profitability.

Make sure you continue to provide a great experience after closing. Does your warranty team do that? Again, there are tools that help you stand out and build a reputation that generates new sales leads.

If you’re facing tough competition from the large public builders, you need to differentiate yourself.

Lisa McCarthy, Out of the Box
Why Accounting Expertise Should Be A Priority

In our experience, business owners often start out by handling their own accounting, which can lead to unintentional errors and limited financial insight. While this approach may save costs initially, it often results in costly corrections and missed opportunities down the line. In fact, studies indicate that businesses with robust financial tracking and reporting systems see significantly higher success rates than those without. When your financial data is accurate and actionable, it empowers you to respond to industry shifts with agility, optimize profitability, and proactively plan for sustainable growth.

Investing in a comprehensive accounting technology stack is essential for businesses of all sizes. While it may seem cost-intensive initially, the efficiencies and insights gained will ultimately save time, mitigate risk, and enable better business decisions. READ THE FULL BLOG

Dennis Steigerwalt, Housing Innovation Alliance
Innovate To A Vision

Through partnered research activities, we’re exploring and supporting two areas of strategic opportunity for 2025.

Wellness is the new why. Through our collaboration with the America at Home Study to design and deliver the Picket Fence concept home, one of the lasting insights captured through Wave 3 of the study confirms wellness as a leading purchase motivator, and the key reason consumers make decisions about sustainability features, technologies, and community attributes. For housing providers, the biggest wins will come through partnerships to minimize the total cost of incorporating these solutions while streamlining consumer interaction with new products and technologies to achieve their desired lifestyle benefits.

Innovation is a growing focus with the largest builders. Through our work with Ivory Innovations and ProBuilder, we learned the balance of innovation and risk is determined by practical, effective solutions that can be implemented while keeping business performance strong. A lasting approach to innovation adoption not only helps drive goals around quality, speed, and cost but fulfills a larger mission. As you develop your strategy for 2025, prioritize solutions with noticeable impact in context of the effort it takes to implement and reinforce the deeper strategic why.

Builders indicated they want to build faster, reduce costs, get ahead of code changes, and respond to the evolving consumer purchase motivators. READ THE FULL BLOG

Diane Gilson, Info Plus(+) Consulting® Inc.
Use AI To Empower Your Construction Company

The construction industry is set for a transformative leap in 2025 with Artificial Intelligence (AI) at its core. According to Exhibit 6 of a 2024 McKinsey study, companies integrating AI report an average 39% cost reduction!

Don’t ignore this reality!

AI is beginning to underpin every aspect of the construction industry. Competitors who adopt AI will gain significant advantages. So, training your workforce in AI isn’t just an upgrade; it’s a survival strategy. That means you must immediately equip your team to maintain your competitive advantage.

What’s the impact?

Imagine every team member—from laborers to project managers to estimators to salespeople—leveraging AI to enhance your company's speed, precision, and efficiency.

• AI-driven tools can streamline project management, optimize resource allocation, and foresee potential delays (much like dynamic blueprints that can guide each phase of your construction projects).
• Additionally, AI enhances safety with predictive monitoring systems and automates repetitive tasks, allowing your team to focus on higher-value work.
• Embracing AI can provide deep insights into operational performance and market trends. You can learn to use it to make data-driven decisions to propel your business forward.

When you invest in AI training for each of your team members, you improve not only efficiency and profitability, but you also ensure that your company becomes leaner, more effective, and remains resilient and competitive in this rapidly evolving industry.

Tim Bailey, ECI
Ease And Convenience Create A Competitive Advantage

Homebuyers today are more informed, tech-savvy, and demanding than ever before. Their expectations for the homebuilding experience have evolved beyond simply purchasing a high-quality home. Today’s homebuyer seeks a seamless, personalized journey—one that includes a deeply engaging, transparent, and supportive process that extends well beyond closing day. Here are some top customer experience trends reshaping the homebuilding industry.

1. Personalization powered by technology: Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all homes. Today's buyers crave spaces that reflect their unique tastes and lifestyles.
2. Increased communication and transparency: Clear communication and transparency are essential for a positive customer experience, especially in homebuilding, where timelines can be long, and unexpected delays or changes are common.
3. Focus on after-sale service and customer support: The homebuying journey doesn’t end at closing. Progressive builders prioritize robust after-sale support to ensure customer satisfaction long after homeowners move in.

As the homebuilding industry continues to adapt to new consumer expectations, customer experience has become a critical differentiator. By embracing personalization, transparent communication, and exceptional after-sale support, builders can create a seamless, convenient, and engaging experience for their customers. In today's competitive market, prioritizing customer experience is not just a trend; it's a strategic imperative for long-term success. READ THE FULL BLOG

Russ Stephens, Association of Professional Builders
Embrace AI Or Fall Behind

The landscape for builders is changing fast, and the companies that succeed in 2025 will be those that have integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI). This isn’t just a trend—AI is already transforming residential construction, with early adopters seeing higher productivity, smoother operations, and better margins. Building companies need to adapt now or risk being outpaced.

AI can do more than write a few marketing emails or social media posts. Leading builders are already using AI to generate videos, qualify leads, automatically document notes and follow-up tasks from sales calls, estimate and price projects with amazing accuracy, and even document Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in a fraction of the time.

And these examples are only just scratching the surface. The truth is that AI won’t replace builders, but builders who use AI will outpace those who don’t. In 2025, the companies that invest in AI will be the ones leading the pack—are you ready to be one of them?

Jane Meagher, Success Strategies
Blending Clicks And Connections For A Seamless, Optimized Customer Journey

In today’s homebuilding landscape, design studio customers expect the perfect balance of digital efficiency and human expertise. They crave the ease of technology to streamline their decision-making process while still valuing the warmth and guidance of a professional Design Consultant. Meeting this dual expectation isn’t just about offering a better experience—it’s about staying competitive as a leading builder.

Three areas builders need to focus on:

• Empowering customers through technology
• Elevating the in-studio experience
• Adapting the process for design collections and packages

Blending advanced technology with the personal touch is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity. By giving customers the tools to explore and prepare digitally, while also elevating the in-studio experience with expert guidance, builders can optimize the customer journey and foster deeper satisfaction. The result? a design experience that feels effortless, enjoyable, and uniquely tailored to each buyer.

The future of homebuilder design studios lies in merging clicks and connections—and the most successful companies are already making it happen. Are you ready? READ THE FULL BLOG

Paul Cardis, On3
2025 Will Be The Year Of AI Vision

As we look to the future, I predict that 2025 will be the year AI Vision makes significant technological strides. We all know AI has already arrived, but what we haven't seen is what AI can do when it has the ability to SEE and integrate that information with a Large Language Model (LLM). This evolution will be transformative and affect all corners of the globe with efficiencies in business and our personal lives. In home building, the industry will be afforded greater transparency, quality, and communication all through innovative AI solutions using AI Vision. It's all kind of scary and exciting at the same time, but I am one for adventure so I look forward to all the good things that can be accomplished. I hope you embrace these changes because as Dr. Karim Lakani from Harvard University has said, "AI won't replace humans, rather humans using AI will replace humans."

Brad Haubert, ECI
Get Out Of Your Own Way BEFORE Homebuilding Picks Up

New home construction typically slows in the cooler months of the year, and that’s always a great time for home builders to look inward at their processes and streamline them for when it’s time to step on the gas again.

And—as hard as it is to hear—sometimes owners get in their way. They can’t see beyond their day-to-day challenges to understand that a fresh outside perspective is valuable and worth an investment.

Although established practices are comfortable and individuals know “how to get something done,” I’ve found that they aren’t always the most efficient. Often, those practices fall onto one key individual who has become accustomed to picking up the slack for others.

The individual wears that “badge of honor” with a smile, but the smile will eventually wear off.

I’ve also seen home builders' operations come to a screeching halt when that one key individual leaves (or even goes on vacation) since others don’t really know how that individual works and/or where the information is stored.

Work with someone to map out your current processes and help you design what processes could (and/or should) look like. Be ready to bring in other employees to that process and cross-train. This will allow you to have a network of individuals who can keep business flowing efficiently without interruption if any leave.

Monica Wheaton, ECI
Tip for 2025: Invest The Time NOW To Streamline Operations And Drive Growth With Technology

Integrating technology with standardized processes is essential for helping builders do more with less. Robust systems ensure consistent communication, improvement in operations through data management, and can empower your team to analyze decisions for cost-saving opportunities and cycle time optimization. While it requires an investment of time upfront, this effort prevents costly issues down the road, saving time and money in the long run. By training teams and aligning systems, builders can reduce waste, improve efficiency, and position themselves for sustainable growth.

Securing team buy-in is equally crucial to maximizing these benefits. Engaging employees early, providing training, and demonstrating how technology simplifies their work fosters collaboration and ensures smoother adoption. A strong upfront commitment ensures the organization avoids the expensive pitfalls of disjointed processes and patchwork solutions, allowing builders to focus on improving customer satisfaction and adapting quickly to market changes.

Melissa Morman, Built4f.com
CX—It’s Everybody’s Business!

Long gone are the days when CX (Customer Experience) is left to the frontline folks to manage and ‘clean up’ when there is a spill! Today’s executives are realizing that ‘experience’ is that last frontier of competing in today’s customer centric environment. When managed well, revenue increases and costs decrease.

The first step to CX enlightenment is realizing that your customers have an experience with you, whether by intention or default. It is no accident that brands like Apple, REI, and Starbucks have such amazing brands and ‘cult-like’ followings. These brands have an extremely focused intentionality, from their high-level strategies down to the smallest details.

To help you kick off 2025 with a more intentional CX focus, here is a top 10 list of tips to get your CX juices flowing:

1. Create an ‘as is’ customer journey map (not an internal process map).
2. Once you have mapped your ‘as is’ journey map, you can start to design your ‘can be’ journey.
3. As you are mapping, keep in mind that the critical first touch happens before we know them.
4. Similarly, how we ‘finish’ out a customer engagement is just as vital; this is when the experience is cemented.
5. As you are working on your journey map, be sure you are not too focused on ‘potholes’ vs ‘peaks’. We need to address the problems, and we also want to build in delighters!
6. You can’t have great CX without great HX (Human Experience!), so be sure that HR and every layer of management is also on board, focusing on a CX/HX culture.
7. Self-service is expected in today’s world, but if not executed properly, these tools can backfire and detract from the experience.
8. As you move from an internally focused organization to a CX culture, your management metrics also need to shift, and factor into incentive compensation.
9. Reviews contain ‘gold’ to help you improve, but also need to be managed as your future potential customers are seeing each and every one.
10. Last but not least, every day with our customers is ‘showtime’. Just as a Broadway production is executed flawlessly every night, we need that same performance attitude every day with every customer interaction.

The net is that our brand is not what you cooked up in the board room, but rather an accumulation of all your customers’ touch points. Don’t leave your brand up to chance; get intentional with your CX!