Will consolidation of public homebuilders continue or accelerate?
M&A activity in the homebuilding industry has not been primarily driven by consolidation of public homebuilders in the past two years. Instead, it’s been motivated by a diverse range of factors, such as expanding into new markets, accessing new technologies, and diversifying business strategies. This trend is expected to continue in the near future, with M&A driven by broader strategic goals rather than just size and scale.
In 2023, the FTC and DOJ introduced new merger guidelines designed to increase scrutiny on M&A deals. The homebuilding industry expected these guidelines to lead to more thorough reviews of its mergers and acquisitions. As a result, industry players anticipated that the guidelines would make M&A deals more challenging to complete.
This year, according to John Burns, “There have been 7 M&A deals in 2025 to date, after 3 that closed in the fourth quarter of 2024. Six of these 7 deals fall into one of the following categories: culture fit, private companies’ growth ambitions, and construction innovations.”
