BTIG survey shows Iran conflict leads to weakening demand from U.S. homebuilders

LootboxPhobia · 2026-04-08T16:29:06+00:00

BTIG's survey shows that, influenced by the Iran conflict and rising mortgage rates, homebuilders experienced a significant decline in demand in March, with sales and foot traffic falling short of expectations. The proportion of builders reporting a decline in sales increased to 35%, and the proportion reporting a decrease in foot traffic also rose to 35%. Pricing conditions worsened, with more builders lowering prices and offering additional incentives. Overall, market confidence has become more cautious.

LootboxPhobia

2026-04-08 16:29:06

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Investing.com - A monthly survey by research firm BTIG shows that homebuilder demand weakened broadly in March as pressures from the Iran conflict and rising mortgage rates weighed on sales and foot traffic.

The BTIG/HomeSphere Homebuilder Survey polled 103 national small- and midsize homebuilding and custom homebuilders. The results show that 35% of builders reported that sales were down year over year in March, up from 23% in February. Foot traffic trends sharply reversed: the share of builders reporting year-over-year increases in foot traffic fell from 43% in February to 33%, while the share reporting declines rose from 18% in February to 35%.

Compared with expectations, business performance for both sales and foot traffic softened. 26% of respondents reported sales were better than expected, down from 33% in February; 24% of respondents reported foot traffic was better than expected, down from 40% in February.

Pricing conditions deteriorated slightly: 23% of builders lowered some, most, or all base prices, versus 21% in February. The use of incentives also increased, with 24% of respondents adding some, most, or all incentives, compared with 18% in February.

In their March comments, builders became more cautious. Builders in several regions cited the Iran conflict, rising gas prices, and mortgage rates resuming an accelerated rise as factors affecting sales and foot traffic. BTIG said that weakness across sales, pricing, foot traffic, and expectations indicates that rate and price increases driven by the Iran conflict had a negative impact on demand, reversing the improvement momentum seen in January and February.

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