Audit drop-off points
Identify where buyers abandon before enquiring
As homebuilders head into 2026, one thing is clear: budgets aren’t disappearing, they’re being re-examined.
Buyers are moving more cautiously, sales cycles are stretching, and marketing leaders are under pressure to justify every dollar spent. Against that backdrop, CommVersion hosted a live discussion with senior marketers from Fischer Homes, The Kolter Group, and Lombardo Homes to unpack a simple but urgent question:
Where should homebuilders really be placing their bets for 2026?
What followed was a refreshingly honest conversation - grounded in data, lived experience, and a clear-eyed view of how buyer behaviour has changed. Below are the key insights every homebuilder should be paying attention to.
1. Today’s homebuyer is not “New” when they show up
One of the strongest themes to emerge was how dramatically the buyer journey has shifted over the last 12–18 months. By the time a buyer fills in a form, calls, or walks into a sales office, they are often deep into their decision-making process.
As Melissa Cervin, VP of Marketing at Lombardo Homes, explained, what we still label as a “walk-in” is rarely a first interaction anymore. In reality, that buyer may be visiting for the 30th or 40th time, having researched pricing, floor plans, homesites, timing, and competitors online.
The implication for marketers is significant:
- Your website is no longer an awareness tool - it’s a decision tool
- Buyers arrive educated, opinionated, and short on patience
- If critical information isn’t available online, elimination happens quietly and early
In other words, clarity now beats persuasion.
2. Attribution is still broken - but builders are getting smarter
When buyers engage across dozens of touchpoints, attribution becomes messy fast. The panel agreed that most builders still default to last-touch attribution, even though it badly misrepresents reality. The channel that captures the lead often gets credit - while months of prior engagement go unseen.
More progressive teams are starting to look beyond “leads” and focus instead on revenue-adjacent behaviour, such as:
- First visit source
- Repeat visits
- Depth of content consumption
- Actions taken before appointment setting
- Lead-to-appointment and lead-to-agreement progression
The real unlock comes when CRM data and website analytics are connected, allowing marketers to see how anonymous behaviour eventually turns into revenue.
If you only optimise for volume, you’ll misread intent. If you optimise for behaviour, you’ll start to see what actually works.
3. Mobile experience is a conversion gatekeeper
Across demographics, from active adult buyers to younger Gen Z and millennial audiences, one trend is universal: mobile patience is low. Jamie Godwin, Director of Marketing Communications at The Kolter Group, highlighted that mobile engagement is high, but tolerance for friction is minimal. If a mobile experience feels slow, confusing, or inconsistent with desktop, buyers exit quickly.
Meanwhile, Ally Price, Marketing Technologist at Fischer Homes, noted that younger buyers expect:
- Fast, visual, mobile-first experiences
- Guided navigation over complex menus
- Video and imagery instead of long copy
- Immediate access to trustworthy information
When websites fail to deliver clarity in real time, buyers simply move on - often to competitors who do.
4. The conversion gap is the new battleground
A consistent undercurrent throughout the session was this: Traffic is not the problem. Conversion is.
Many builders are still pouring budget into driving more clicks, while leaking value further down the funnel due to:
- Slow speed-to-lead
- Poor alignment with online sales teams
- Friction in forms and calls-to-action
- Gaps between digital intent and human follow-up
This is why more marketing leaders are reframing CRO not as a “nice-to-have”, but as a budget multiplier. When conversion improves, every dollar spent upstream works harder, without increasing spend.
5. If Budgets were cut tomorrow, what wouldn’t be touched?
When asked what they would refuse to cut if budgets were reduced by 20%, the answers were revealing.
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Across the panel, the non-negotiables were:
- People and training: teams still need to convert demand
- Website experience and conversion tools
- Retargeting: staying visible during long decision cycles
- Core tech stack: especially tools that improve speed, clarity, and alignment
The message was consistent. Cutting spend is easier than cutting friction, but friction is what costs deals.
6. AI, clarity, and the 2026 buyer journey
Looking ahead, the panel agreed that AI will play a far larger role in how buyers search, compare, and shortlist builders. Instead of browsing dozens of websites, buyers are increasingly asking AI tools to recommend options for them. That shifts the game in two important ways:
- Structured, clear content matters more than clever messaging
- Builders who make information easy to find and compare will win attention
As one panellist put it, the builders who succeed won’t be the loudest; they’ll be the most helpful. Clarity, not promotion, is becoming the deciding factor.
Practical Takeaways for 2026 Budget Planning
Budgets may be under pressure, but opportunity still exists for teams willing to focus on efficiency, conversion, and buyer confidence.
Final Thought
The smartest homebuilders aren’t retreating in 2026, they’re reallocating. They’re investing in clarity, conversion, and experiences that respect how buyers actually behave today. And they’re treating marketing not as a volume game, but as a precision engine. That mindset will be the difference between standing still and pulling ahead next year.
If you’d like to watch the full discussion, the recording is available here.
