From Need-To to Sure: How Digital Pre-Gross sales Grew to become the Solely Path Ahead
Shopping for a brand new house has by no means been a “should.” Even when life occasions immediate folks to maneuver, selecting new development is a want-to determination that is dependent upon confidence and readability.
And that’s true extra so now than virtually any time in additional than a decade.
Shopping for new now requires suspending disbelief that it’s the proper time. It entails feeling so compelled by a product, a worth, and a spot {that a} purchaser will take a leap regardless of hesitation.
That is the core problem homebuilders face heading into 2026: not pushing folks to purchase, however persuading folks to consider.
And that perception—right now—develops lengthy earlier than anybody steps foot in a mannequin house. More and more, it begins on-line.
What Patrons Say They Need—And Why Builders Should Ship Early
In accordance with NAHB’s November 2025 special study, What Drives Single-Household House Values, patrons overwhelmingly prioritize a core set of constant elements:
- location entry,
- trendy floorplans,
- power effectivity,
- the power to personalize, and
- clear price-to-feature tradeoffs.
Maybe extra importantly: patrons need certainty that what they see is what they’ll get—and that the house they’re contemplating fully matches what they really worth. They’re cautious of paying for sq. footage they don’t want, choices they don’t need, or options they will’t visualize. They’re exhausted by friction and able to stroll on the first signal of confusion.
Pre-sales have change into a brand new aggressive entrance. Those that ship the clearest, quickest, and most clear digital expertise earn the customer’s belief earlier than even searching for their signature.
Epcon: A Case Examine in Turning Digital Into Velocity
One of many strongest real-world proofs of a digital-first strategy comes from Epcon Communities, a non-public builder centered on communities well-liked with 55+ empty-nester and active-adult patrons — a section the place way of life and confidence are as essential as worth.
Epcon Communities Regional President Paul Hanson explains why pre-sales are extra essential now than ever and the way they’re utilizing Higharc to distinguish themselves amongst patrons.
“Our largest problem is the client’s mindset,” Hanson says. “They wish to see it. They wish to know precisely what they’re getting. They wish to perceive how all of the items match collectively. Higharc helps us present that early within the course of. That adjustments every thing.”
He discusses how the system transforms not solely purchaser engagement but additionally inside alignment.
“When somebody is available in after going by way of Higharc Showroom on our web site, they’re already acquainted with the plan,” Hanson says. “They’ve interacted with it. They know the choices. They know the look. That reduces discovery time, reduces the variety of appointments, and reduces back-and-forth. It additionally means they arrive in additional excited.”
The shift has additionally been important for operational execution.
“For us, accuracy is the place the worth actually reveals up,” he mentioned. “Each time we’ve to reissue a development set, each time a builder within the discipline is taking a look at one thing that’s outdated, each time the gross sales workforce sells one thing that isn’t really buildable—that’s time, that’s cash, and it hurts the customer’s expertise. With Showroom, we’re in a position to eradicate virtually all of that.”
Notably, Epcon has additionally used the platform to evolve its product combine.
The insights we’re getting from how patrons work together with plans assist information our product choices,” Hanson explains. “We are able to see what they care about, what they’re selecting, what they aren’t selecting. That offers us the power to regulate earlier than we spend months designing one thing the market doesn’t need.”
That final level often is the quiet revolution occurring beneath the floor. Digital pre-sales don’t simply promote properties sooner—they inform product technique, de-risk land positions, and scale back the capital drag of misaligned product assumptions.
Advertising Isn’t a Funnel Anymore—It’s a Digital Working Mannequin
To see what this implies on the entrance traces of builder gross sales, we requested somebody who has watched the shift occur in actual time.
“We’re at a degree the place builders can’t depend on the previous approach of doing issues,” says Jared Rogers, Senior Director of Gross sales at Higharc. “Patrons anticipate a digital-first expertise. They wish to configure a house, see correct pricing, and perceive how their decisions change the house—earlier than they ever discuss to somebody. If builders don’t meet that expectation, the customer is gone earlier than the primary interplay.”
Rogers claims that digital advertising and marketing and digital pre-sales are not two separate concepts. They’re a part of the identical system—an ongoing expertise.
“Builders who’re profitable proper now are those who deal with digital as the middle of their advertising and marketing ecosystem,” he tells me. “Showroom offers them a option to present the house, configure the house, and worth the house with accuracy. That creates extra certified leads and makes all the gross sales cycle sooner.”
Accuracy, he stresses, is the massive hinge.
“Most gross sales materials is static or nonetheless pictures. The gross sales and advertising and marketing property aren’t tied to actual information. With Higharc Showroom, every thing is related to the plans and is mechanically generated. Meaning what a purchaser selects on-line is buildable,” Rogers says. “It eliminates rework, eliminates disconnects with the again workplace and discipline, and eliminates surprises.”
In different phrases: readability equals confidence. And confidence is the forex of pre-sales.
When Hesitancy Is the Market, Precision Turns into the Technique
Every part we’re seeing in right now’s shopper conduct factors in the identical route: patrons is not going to tolerate friction, opacity, or pointless value. They wish to purchase solely what they worth. They need transparency. They usually wish to really feel in management.
In a market that’s “caught” and “idling” with cautious demand, promoting properties earlier than development has change into one of many few reliable paths to sustaining tempo.
Rogers’ level is blunt:
“If builders need extra pre-sales and elevated purchaser confidence, the method has to maneuver on-line,” he mentioned. “The expertise needs to be intuitive, correct, and constant. Patrons received’t stick round for a fragmented course of.”
That is additionally why builders who deal with digital as an overlay usually fail. Digital pre-sales will not be a beauty characteristic—they’re a reconfiguration of how the enterprise works.
Hanson underscores this:
“What we’ve realized is that Higharc Showroom isn’t only a advertising and marketing software. It adjustments how our workforce sells, educates clients, communicates with the sphere, and costs properties. It’s a part of how we run the enterprise now.”
That integration is the place pre-sales change into scalable moderately than episodic.
The Takeaway for Builder-Leaders
This second within the cycle—marked by uncertainty, rising acquisition prices, hesitant patrons, and relentless strain on margins—calls for that builders rethink how and once they talk worth.
Patrons aren’t shopping for properties. They’re shopping for confidence within the determination.
Digital pre-sales are rising as essentially the most environment friendly, most correct, and most buyer-aligned option to ship that confidence. The mix of self-guided exploration, actual pricing, actual construct guidelines, and high-fidelity visualization strikes patrons from want-to to sure sooner—and with fewer errors and fewer organizational drag.
As Rogers places it:
“Digital is not non-compulsory if you wish to develop. It’s not a pattern. It’s the brand new working mannequin.”
Hanson attests to this, operationally:
“Instruments like Higharc Showroom assist us meet the customer’s expectations whereas defending our personal operations. That’s the long run. That’s the place builders acquire an edge.”
The message to the business is simple:
If pre-sales are your lifeline on this market—and they’re—your digital expertise is now your most essential group, your most essential mannequin house, and your most essential salesperson.
