We rang in the new year with the same hope that the housing market will remain as hot as it was in 2020. So far, all indications still point to low inventory, high demand and an overall healthy builders’ market. But 2021 is not without its challenges in the first quarter. Builders all over the country are either having trouble finding lumber or they’re having to bump their prices to keep up with inflating costs. We’re also starting to see interest rates slowly creep up. What has that done to overall web traffic and engagement? Let’s find out!

First, let's talk about where this data comes from. At Builder Designs, we have access to over 400 homebuilder websites. Periodically, we gather all of that information and present it to you. For most purposes, we filter out traffic generated by ad spend and focus on organic traffic, referral traffic and direct traffic only. Since not every builder has the same budget or strategy when it comes to their ads, we feel that this is the safest way to accurately report industry web traffic trends.

Without further ado, here’s Q1 2021:

The Big Freeze

A notable wrinkle in this graph is the period from about February 9 to February 16, where much of the US was below freezing and hit with a major winter storm. Our friends in Texas don’t have any trouble remembering this.

First Quarters Compared

This graph means more when you put it into context. Below are Q1 2020 and Q1 2021, both compared to the previous years.

Overall, the engagement metrics from 2019, 2020 and 2021 are all relatively consistent. We’re having the same Q1 we’ve traditionally seen—and getting primed for the peak selling season.

Looking Ahead

We went through 2020 thinking our analytics for the year would be skewed and unusable when comparing it to 2021 data.. And while there is something to be said about Q2 2020 having some degree of pent-up demand after the initial shock of COVID-19, the Q2 and Q3 2020 traffic numbers looked strong on their own.

So what will we see in Q2 2021? We predict that we’ll see more of a year like 2019. Web volume should start to normalize—or even start to decline—as we see prices go up due to lumber, builders sell out their few existing homes and interest rates continue to rise. Consumers may be ready for peak selling season, but many builders around the country may not be if they can't get foundations in the ground.

How do your numbers compare to the rest of the industry? Check out the data below. Do you think you’re missing something when it comes to your web traffic? Schedule a meeting with Amber or Karsen to see if there are opportunities to optimize your web traffic.