By Mike Lentz | The Mike Lentz Team - Keller Williams Realty
Yes. Nationally, 43 percent of builders cut prices in October. In South Jersey, 57 percent of new construction homes that closed from January through September sold below their original asking price, up from 48 percent a year earlier. How much room there is depends heavily on the community.
When the housing market slows down, homeowners and builders respond differently. A homeowner who isn’t getting the offers they want can take the house off the market and stay put.
A builder can’t do that as easily. The money is already spent on land, materials and labor. Every finished home that sits unsold keeps costing them in loan interest, taxes and upkeep until it closes.
That gives some builders a real reason to negotiate right now, and buyers shopping new construction can use it.
Fewer Buyers Are Making Moves, and Builders Are Feeling It
According to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pending home sales fell 7.3 percent in September and 11.3 percent compared to last year.
Higher mortgage rates are making it harder for buyers to make the numbers work. That report tracks existing homes, not new construction, but the same slowdown shows up on the builder side.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports that builder confidence dropped to 29 in October, its lowest level since June 2012. Traffic from prospective buyers fell to its lowest point in more than a decade, outside the start of the pandemic.
Robert Dietz, Chief Economist at NAHB, explains:
“Demand persists, but higher mortgage rates, elevated construction costs and weaker consumer confidence are keeping more buyers on the sidelines.”
A homeowner may be able to wait for the right offer. A builder with several finished houses on the books has more reason to sell them sooner, and may be more willing to work with you on price or incentives than you’d expect.
Builders Negotiating on Price: The National Numbers
According to the latest NAHB survey, in October:
- 65 percent of builders offered sales incentives.
- 43 percent cut prices, the highest share recorded between 2020 and 2026.
- The typical price cut was 6 percent.
Builders do negotiate. A lower price is one option. A mortgage rate buydown, help with closing costs, or upgrades that would otherwise cost extra are others.
Are Builders Negotiating on Price in South Jersey?
They are, and more than they were a year ago. We pulled every new construction sale recorded in Bright MLS across our five counties for January through September of 2025 and 2026.
This year, 57 percent of new construction homes closed below their original asking price, up from 48 percent in the same stretch of 2025. When a builder did come down, the typical reduction was 5.2 percent, or about $23,000. Only 16 percent of new homes sold over list price, compared with 22 percent last year.
Those homes are also taking longer to sell. The median new construction sale spent 50 days on market this year, up from 38. Resale homes, by comparison, are still moving in a median of 19 days, and 47 percent of them sold over list price.
The monthly pattern is different from the national one. The NAHB share of builders cutting prices climbed to a new high in October. Here, the share of new homes selling below their original price has stayed between 49 and 57 percent since July. South Jersey builders started negotiating earlier, and they haven’t let up.
By county, the picture varies widely:
| New construction, Jan to Sep 2026 | Sales | Sold below original price | Median days on market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camden County | 290 | 70% | 57 |
| Gloucester County | 118 | 33% | 14 |
| Cumberland County | 58 | 47% | 74 |
| Burlington County | 35 | 54% | 56 |
| Salem County | 12 | 67% | 47 |
| Five counties, new construction | 513 | 57% | 50 |
| Five counties, resale homes | 11,464 | 43% | 19 |
Source: Bright MLS closed sales, January through September 2026, analyzed by The Mike Lentz Team.
It Depends on the Community
The county numbers hide a wide spread between developments. Camden County carries most of this year’s new construction volume, and about a third of it is in Winslow Township. In Winslow’s two biggest new communities, roughly nine out of ten homes closed below their original price.
Gloucester County looks very different. New homes there are selling in a median of 14 days, and only a third closed below original price. In the largest new community in Mullica Hill (Harrison Township), almost every home sold at or above its first asking price.
So one builder may have plenty of room to negotiate while another, one county over, has very little. That’s why the community matters as much as the market.
Where Builders Stand Right Now
As of October 25, there were 293 new construction homes for sale across the five counties. About a third had already been reduced, typically by 6.8 percent, and the median listing had been on the market for roughly two months. In Burlington County, more than half of the 44 new construction listings had a price cut.
Those numbers cover price only. Rate buydowns and closing cost credits from builders usually don’t show up in MLS records, so ask each builder directly what they’re offering.
What to Ask When Builders Are Negotiating on Price
Start with homes that are already built. Builders call them quick move-in or spec homes, and the longer one sits finished and unsold, the more reason the builder has to take an offer that gets it off their books.
Then compare the whole package. Some builders will move on price. Others would rather pay for a rate buydown or closing costs, which can lower your monthly payment more than a similar price cut would. Don’t assume the advertised price or incentive package is the best they’ll do.
Bring your own agent. The sales rep in the model home works for the builder. We can show you how long a builder’s finished homes have been sitting, what nearby new homes actually closed for, and which communities have the most room to negotiate. If you’re weighing new construction against resale, we can also show you whether it’s a buyer’s or seller’s market in your county and where you have more bargaining power.
Bottom Line
Builders across the country are cutting prices and adding incentives. South Jersey builders are negotiating more this year than last, with most of the increase coming from Camden County. In Gloucester County, many builders are still holding firm.
If you’re shopping new construction and want to know where the room is, schedule a quick call and we’ll walk through the communities you’re considering.
For the full picture in your county, see our county market reports for Camden, Burlington, Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland counties.
