Oct 21, 2026 · 21 min
Entry-level builders turn efficiency into a survival strategy
Wade Jurney on building entry-level homes in this market
Affordable-home builders face a squeeze from high borrowing costs, inflation, expensive land, stagnant prices, labor uncertainty, and margins too thin to absorb mistakes.
- 1National Home uses standardized designs, value engineering, and efficient construction to compete on price and price per square foot.
- 2Wade Jurney sees a prolonged market bottom as an opportunity to expand volume and gain share despite weak conditions.
- 3Land costs and labor uncertainty can erase already-thin margins, making disciplined acquisition and precise buyer data essential.
Don't miss
Wade Jurney explains how a small difference in lot cost can eliminate profitability when entry-level margins are already extremely thin.
The brief
Wade Jurney of National Home Corporation describes a business built around affordable, starter-level homes—and the geographic scale needed to make low prices work.
National Home relies on standardized components, value engineering, and buyer data to strip away costs while preserving the features price-sensitive customers actually value.
Jurney argues that a prolonged market bottom can reward builders willing to pursue volume and market share, even as high rates and stagnant prices constrain demand.
The sharpest tension comes in land economics: lots bought at peak prices can make affordable homes unprofitable, while small cost differences can eliminate the margin entirely.
Labor availability has improved with the slowdown, but immigration enforcement affecting Hispanic workers and subcontractors adds another layer of uncertainty to an already fragile model.
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