Top Residential Construction Blogs of 2023

As 2023 ended, residential construction companies can look back on a year of extremes. The whipsawing market presented no shortage of obstacles from depleted lots to wavering buyer sentiment. Yet disciplined operators discovered opportunities amidst the upheaval through focus on customer experience, communication enhancements and productivity optimizations.

Our top articles across the residential construction industry in 2023

With the calendar turned to 2024, we spotlight our most popular posts, unpacking last year’s unique navigation. What technology and efficiency best practices set leading builders apart as they balanced pace and quality? How did the industry’s most innovative sales leaders drive results despite skittish buyers? What inventory management adjustments kept projects flowing?

The articles below provide answers to these questions and more. Dig into the top trends, challenges and success strategies defined by an especially dynamic 2023 residential building climate. Discover the customer-centric, clear-communicating and efficiency-scaling attributes which empowered teams to deliver this year. Use these top takeaways as a springboard to start 2024 with confidence and clarity of purpose.

Top New Home Sales Tips for 2024

With a new year ahead, top sales experts from Kerry & Co., FPG, Blue Gypsy, Do You Convert, and more shared advice on succeeding in 2024 home sales.

Key themes:

• Leverage emotional intelligence to connect authentically
• Address buyers' uncertainty and guide them confidently
• Refine sales skills as markets fluctuate
• Adopt smart tech but keep customer experience human
• Stay nimble; focus on prospect needs not conditions

Takeaways encourage flexibility, self-improvement, and consultative selling. Building trust and creating certainty are essential regardless of rates or inventory.

Take these best practices into the new year to drive relationships and sales through any environment.

Click here for the full set of actionable tips.

RHC Roundtable: Our Team Has Been Where You Are

This post highlights insights from ECI Residential Home Construction experts Jeff Muir, Jared Johnson, Lauren Loy, and Sam Knight. With over 50 combined years in home building, they share perspectives on opportunities and technology's evolving role.

Key themes:

• Adopting software and diversifying brings competitive advantage
• Aging-in-place, online sales, company culture offer growth
• Technology enhances efficiency, accuracy, sustainability
• Integration with consumer expectations is now essential
• Outside work, the group enjoys nature, travel, food, and family

Their diverse experience allows ECI to deeply understand clients' needs. Embracing innovation empowers builders to maximize success through fluctuating cycles.

Click to read full discussion on the past, present and future of residential construction.

Building Homes in 90 Days or Less: Can it be Done Again?

This blog examines if homebuilders can return to pre-2020 construction cycle times of 90 days or less. Lengthier build times hurt cash flow and satisfaction. Reasons for slowed construction are complex, but proactive steps can improve efficiency.

Key strategies include:

Believe it is possible

• Map out a schedule showing it is feasible to complete builds in 90 days
• Get teams bought into timeline

Deployment

• Slot home starts strategically based on trade partner capacity
• Identify production choke points (foundations, framing etc.)

Communication

• Share schedules centrally so all parties know real-time status

Consistency

• Create schedule templates optimized for each product
• Stick to plans; avoid constant changes that cause delays

Reward teams for consistency not speed. Collaborate to streamline efficiencies. Proper planning and scheduling reveals paths to faster cycle times. With focused effort, sub-90-day construction is achievable again.

Read the full analysis of how to compress build schedules.

Meet The Team: The BuildTools Story

This post profiles the team behind BuildTools construction software. Industry veterans Sven Gustafson, Bob Cain, Jared Johnson, and Brad Haubert share their backgrounds in custom home building and thoughts on technology's role.

Key insights:

• Collectively over 80+ years’ experience in residential construction
• Passionate about bringing meaningful innovations to the industry
• Technology enables enhanced efficiency, communication, and growth
• BuildTools designed by and for custom home builders and remodelers
• Comprehensive solution covering key pain points
• Future will see increased digitization and automation

Outside of work, the team enjoys sports, traveling, DIY projects and giving back. Their diverse expertise powers BuildTools' mission to equip home builders to maximize productivity and success.

Read the full story direct from these construction tech leaders.

10 Benefits of Construction Management Software

Construction management software helps home builders and remodelers operate more efficiently. This blog highlights 10 keyways it improves business, for example:

Simplified scheduling

• Automates scheduling, task management, and notifications to keep projects and teams on track

Centralized communication

• Provides one centralized platform to eliminate fragmented email/texts and improve collaboration

Fewer costly mistakes

• Ensures whole team has real-time access to same information to prevent miscues

This software optimizes efficiency, collaboration, and management for home building companies.

Click here for full details on the many benefits.

Concluding thoughts

While markets may fluctuate, the residential construction professionals sharing wisdom herein agree maintaining focus pays dividends in any conditions. Whether enhancing emotional connections in an automated age or regaining systematic speed through collaboration, the advice compels readers inward. How can I as an individual or organization control outcomes through self-improvement?

The answer lies in mastery of sales fundamentals - deeply understanding client needs, guiding with care and confidence, efficiently handling processes underpinning deals. External trends inform, but personal dedication and team cohesion determine destiny.

As the industry wraps a dynamic 2023, these leaders’ insights ring loudly in establishing an internal locus of control. Which relationships can I enrich? How will I hone consultative skills to transcend hesitancies? Where might enhanced collaboration with trades or technologies streamline and scale? The common thread is a willingness to adapt sales approaches, build new muscles and standardize best practices whatever the terrain ahead.

By taking this growth mindset into 2024, residential construction companies can look inward to drive results outward. That determination promises success regardless of broader headwinds. Here is to focus on what we can control and finding opportunities amidst obstacles in the year ahead!