New Construction vs. Existing Home: Selling Against a Builder
3 min read · Last updated 2026-10-08
Price your house against what a new home really costs a buyer, not the builder's list price. Many builders are cutting. In the National Association of Home Builders' September 2026 survey, 38% of them cut prices. Then sell what most new homes for sale can't give a buyer yet: a finished house. At the end of August 2026, just 113,000 of the 483,000 new houses for sale were complete, by seasonally adjusted Census Bureau estimates. That's your edge on timing. Cash Flow Deals makes two offers, and you choose.
| A buyer from your listing | Premium offer | Cash offer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who buys | The buyer your listing brings in | A real FHA or conventional buyer, through novation | Cash Flow Deals buys the house as-is |
| Listing and showings | Listed, with showings | Your home may be listed during inspection. A licensed agent brings each buyer. Showings are scheduled ahead and take 10 to 15 minutes | No listing. One walk-through by our team |
| Inspection period | The days your contract sets | 15 business days | 15 business days |
| Closing | The date in your contract | 45 days or less, on a date you help pick | 45 days or less, on a date you help pick |
| If the buyer's financing falls through | Your contract's terms decide what happens next | You can still take the Cash offer | Not applicable: we're the buyer |
Set Your Price Against What Builders Actually Charge
Decide which homes set your price before you list. If builders are selling near you, their new houses belong in that set, and the number on their sign isn't always the deal a buyer gets.
In the National Association of Home Builders' September 2026 survey, 38% of builders cut prices. That's close to the 39% of September 2025. The average cut was 6%, up from 5% a year earlier. Incentives were more common still: 66% of builders in that survey used them, against 65% a year earlier.
So ask a builder's sales office what it's offering this month. Then price against that. Not the sign.
Our view: an asking price isn't a sale price. That goes for a builder's too. We read the days a house sits on the market as the market's verdict on its price against the homes buyers want, new ones included. Among homes like yours, the best value draws the most buyers, fastest.
Lead With a Closing Date a Buyer Can Plan Around
Decide how soon you can hand over the keys. Then say so early.
Most new houses for sale weren't finished at the end of August 2026: of the 483,000 for sale, 256,000 were under construction and 114,000 hadn't been started, by seasonally adjusted Census Bureau estimates. Just 113,000 were complete.
A buyer who picks one of the unfinished houses waits for the build: in 2025, single-family houses built for sale in places that require permits took an average of 6.1 months from the start of construction to completion, the Census Bureau reports. In the South, 5.5 months.
Your house is already built. So pick two dates before an offer comes in: the earliest closing you can live with and the latest you'd accept. Count your sale from the day you list to the day you close, not to the day you accept an offer.
Decide How Your House Stands Next to a Brand-New One
Decide what you'll do about condition before a buyer sets your house beside a new one.
Our view: buyers leave when the price and the condition they walk through don't match. And if a price has to come down, we'd rather show you as-is sales of homes like yours up front than spring it on you after an inspection.
Fix what a buyer sees first, or price the house as it stands. You can also start from a written offer. Cash Flow Deals makes two offers, and you choose:
1. Cash offer: our as-is number. Cash Flow Deals buys the house and closes. No listing, and one walk-through by our team.
2. Premium offer: a higher number, paid by a real FHA or conventional buyer through novation. You sign with us at a number you agree to and let us bring in a buyer in our place. During the 15 business days of inspection, your home may be listed, and a licensed agent brings each buyer. Showings are scheduled ahead and take 10 to 15 minutes. When your buyer is ready, they sign a new contract directly with you. Their lender funds it, and title transfers once. We're paid as a separate line item on the closing statement. If that buyer's financing falls through, you can still take the Cash offer.
3. Inspection period: 15 business days on either offer.
4. Closing: 45 days or less, on a date you help pick.
Our view: the Premium number is higher because your house reaches buyers whose FHA or conventional lenders fund the purchase.
Common questions
Are new homes cheaper than existing homes right now?
Yes, by the August 2026 medians. The median new house sold that month went for $393,700 by Census Bureau estimates, against $434,800 for the median existing single-family home in the National Association of Realtors' count. That isn't like for like: Census counts a new house as sold when a contract is signed or a deposit taken, while NAR counts existing homes at closing.
Are new home prices falling?
Not measurably, over the past year. The August 2026 median of $393,700 was 5.8% below August 2025's $417,900, but the Census Bureau's margin on that change is plus or minus 8.2 percent, so the actual change could be zero. For full years, the median was $420,300 in 2024 and $417,400 in 2025.
How much new construction is coming in Florida?
More than in any state but Texas. From January through August 2026, building permits in Florida authorized 76,599 new single-family homes, 12.3% of the national total of 620,558, by Census Bureau estimates. A permit isn't a finished house or a sale.
Is anything binding before I sign with you?
No. Nothing with Cash Flow Deals binds you until both sides sign a written contract, and you can have an attorney read it first.