A home builder sales manager leads the agents who sell the company's homes and lots, sets each community's sales goals and approves the deals they write. They price lots and incentives with leadership, coach agents at the models and keep each signed contract on its way to closing.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Responsible for leading the home sales team and driving the achievement of sales goals in the home building sector. Plays a pivotal role in negotiating lot and home sales, ensuring customer satisfaction and strong revenue growth. Serves as a strategic leader, fostering collaboration between sales, operations, and marketing teams.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead and motivate the sales team to consistently exceed sales targets.
Set clear sales goals and develop strategies to achieve high performance.
Negotiate contracts and finalize lot/home sales agreements to maximize profitability.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to streamline sales processes and enhance customer experience.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily sales meetings and performance reviews with team members.
Identify and pursue new business opportunities through prospecting and networking activities.
Engage with potential homebuyers, providing tailored solutions and detailed property information.
Monitor and analyze market trends to adjust sales strategies as needed.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Monthly home sales: Achieve a minimum of 10 sales per month.
New leads generated: Secure at least 25 qualified leads per week.
Sales conversion rate: Maintain a conversion rate above 20%.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Sustain an average rating of over 4.8 stars on post-sale surveys.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Real Estate, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years of sales experience with demonstrable leadership skills.
Excellent negotiation, communication, and relationship-building abilities.
Proficiency in CRM software and data-driven sales analytics.
6. Preferred Experience
Extensive experience in the home building or construction sales industry.
Proven history of exceeding sales targets in a competitive market.
Familiarity with local real estate market dynamics and home building regulations.
Previous experience managing and mentoring a high-performing sales team.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to travel to various project sites as part of the role.
Occasional lifting of sales materials up to 15 lbs.
Capacity to stand for extended periods during property tours and client meetings.
Adaptability to work in diverse weather conditions during on-site visits.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Flexibility to work evenings and weekends during peak sales periods or special events.
A mix of on-site property visits and office-based activities.
Occasional travel between different home building sites within the region.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $75,000 to $95,000 USD per annum.
Attractive performance-based commission structure and bonus incentives.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision insurance plans.
401k plan participation with company match options.
Paid time off and opportunities for professional development and training.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a dynamic, forward-thinking company dedicated to excellence in home building.
Our supportive and collaborative environment values growth, innovation, and success.
We emphasize professional development, community involvement, and continuous improvement.
We foster an inclusive workplace where diverse perspectives are celebrated and every team member can thrive.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
What makes sales management at a home builder different
Every sales manager sets goals and coaches a team. At a home builder, that team sells houses buyers finance with a mortgage, often with an outside agent involved, months before move-in.
Incentives run into the lender's limits
Fannie Mae counts the builder as an interested party, so money you put toward a buyer's closing costs falls under its limits. The limit depends on the loan-to-value ratio and whether the buyer will live in the home, and the help can't be more than the buyer's closing costs. Anything over the limit is treated as a sales concession and taken off the sales price for the loan. Other loan types set their own limits, so check each incentive with the lender first. Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.1-02, interested party contributions.
Agent co-op now lives off the MLS
Under the National Association of Realtors' settlement changes, offers to pay a buyer's agent can't be listed on the MLS. A seller can still share one on flyers, signs or a brokerage website, or by phone or email. Put your co-op policy in writing: what you pay, when an agent must register the buyer, and what happens if the buyer visited alone first. Give every agent the same version. Source: National Association of Realtors: consumer guide to offers of compensation.
Calling the interest list has limits
The FCC's do-not-call rule covers calls that sell property. Your agents may call a number on the national registry for three months after that person's inquiry, or 18 months after a purchase, unless they asked your company to stop. The FTC's rule for calls across state lines uses similar windows. Missouri's no-call law, for example, also covers texts, and its exception for past business contacts lasts 180 days. Keep a company do-not-call list and train every agent on it. Source: eCFR: 47 CFR 64.1200, FCC telemarketing and do-not-call rules.
Price each lot, not just each plan
Two copies of the same plan can sell for different prices because of the lot. A cul-de-sac, a walkout basement, a wooded back yard or a wider side yard can carry a premium. Set those premiums with the general manager before a phase opens, release lots in small groups, and raise prices as each group sells instead of cutting them across the board when traffic slows.
Cover the model when buyers show up
Pull model sign-ins by hour and day for the last few months and build the agent schedule around them. Every open hour needs someone who knows the community's plans and lots. A locked door or a fill-in who can't answer a lot question sends buyers to the builder across the road.
How much home builder sales managers make
Sales managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $129,940 a year ($62.47 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $148,270 median for sales managers in all industries. About 3,340 of the 637,080 sales managers in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
Builders usually pay sales managers a base salary plus commission or an override on the team's closings. The whole base band in the template sits under the BLS median for residential builders' sales managers, with commission on top.
Residential builders and remodelers
$129,940$129,940 median Middle half $98,310–$166,630 10th–90th $72,140–$215,010
All industries
$148,270$148,270 median Middle half $100,360–$207,340 10th–90th $73,170–$290,540
$0k$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k$350k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Residential builders and remodelers
$72,140
$98,310
$129,940
$166,630
$215,010
All industries
$73,170
$100,360
$148,270
$207,340
$290,540
BLS reports home builders and remodelers together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Coaching agents through a model tour, a lot walk and a contract
Reading a sales pace report and changing price or incentives in time
Negotiating with buyers and their agents without giving away margin
Hiring and training agents for a new community
Keeping sales promises in line with what construction can deliver
Teach these on the job
Your purchase agreement, addenda and change order forms
Each community's plans, lots, options and HOA rules
Your CRM's traffic and follow-up reports
Your lender and title partners and their timelines
Your construction stages and typical build times
The team works from a CRM, a price sheet and lot map for each community, and contract software with e-signature. The manager also needs a view of the construction schedule and each buyer's loan status, so the dates and approvals agents give buyers are current.
Home builder sales manager interview questions
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Responding to competitors
A community's sales pace is well behind plan, and a competitor down the road just cut prices. Walk me through what you do.
A strong answer: Shops the competitor, checks lead flow and conversion at each step, looks at product and lot mix, recommends targeted incentives or price moves with finance, and coaches the team.
Behavioral · Hiring salespeople
Tell me about a time you hired a salesperson from outside new-home sales. How did it work out?
A strong answer: Explains what they looked for, how they trained the person on contracts, options and construction, and an honest result.
Use the template's figures as a guide only. Base your goals on how many lots each community has left, the season and how many agents you have.
Monthly home sales
Count signed contracts each month for each community and agent, minus cancellations in the same month. Report gross and net side by side so a run of cancellations can't hide.
New leads generated
Log every new prospect in the CRM by source: walk-in, website, phone or outside agent. Count only those the agents confirm have a time frame and a likely path to financing.
Sales conversion rate
Divide signed contracts by first visits to the model, by agent and by community, from the CRM. Track how many leads become visits as its own number, since that step shows whether follow-up works.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Send a short survey after the contract and again after closing, and sort scores by agent. Read the comments for broken promises about dates, options or price, and coach on what you find.
How many communities can one sales manager oversee?
It depends on the distance between them and how many agents each one has. A manager who can stop at every model each week can coach well; one who sees some models once a month usually can't. Count the drive time, the agents who are still new and any community about to open, and add a manager or a lead agent before follow-up slips.
How much does a home builder sales manager make?
Sales managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $129,940 a year ($62.47 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $98,310 and $166,630 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What should a sales manager check before a contract leaves the model?
That the lot, plan, elevation and options match the price sheet, that every incentive was approved and reads the same in the addendum, and that the buyer's loan prequalification is on file. Look for any promise an agent wrote in by hand, such as a move-in date. Catching these before signing costs far less than fixing them at closing.
How should a sales manager handle a price increase with buyers already under contract?
Check the contract first. If it fixes the price at signing, the increase applies only to new sales. Tell agents before the change takes effect and give them the date, so they can share it honestly with buyers who are close to deciding. Never let an agent hint at an increase that isn't approved, since buyers who feel pushed may cancel later.
What should new agents learn in their first month at a builder?
Each plan and elevation well enough to sketch it, every lot's status and premium, the option list and its deadlines, and how a house goes up from footings to final. Have them walk homes at several stages with a superintendent, sit in on a lot walk and a contract signing, and role-play the price question until their answer is steady.
What do the sales manager template's standing, lifting and weather lines mean day to day?
They describe tasks: standing with buyers for a full model tour, bringing sales materials or a sign of up to 15 pounds in from the car, and walking a lot or a framed house when it's raining or windy. Let candidates know how often they'll be out at the communities, and make reasonable accommodation available for each task.
