A residential developer CFO pays for land, roads and homes long before the last lot sells. They keep cash, loans and investor reports in order, set a budget for each community, and tell the CEO what each phase will earn.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Lead the financial strategy for residential building and development projects to drive sustainable growth and profitability. Ensure robust budget management, cost analysis, and stable cash flow for all developments. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align financial operations with company objectives and industry standards. Serve as a key member of the executive team, providing financial guidance to steer the company’s long-term success.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Oversee all financial functions including budgeting, forecasting, and cost analysis for residential developments.
Ensure stable cash flow management by monitoring and optimizing income, expenditures, and funding requirements.
Collaborate with project teams and senior management to align financial strategy with operational goals.
Prepare clear and concise financial reports and forecasts to support strategic decision-making.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review project financials and cash flow reports to ensure accuracy and timely updates.
Analyze cost data to identify savings opportunities and mitigate financial risks effectively.
Communicate regularly with project managers and key stakeholders to ensure financial alignment with project goals.
Manage vendor payments, reconcile budgets, and oversee expense tracking daily.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Budget Variance: Maintain ≤ 5% deviation from approved project budgets.
Return on Investment: Achieve a minimum ROI of 12% on development projects.
Cost Savings: Realize at least 8% savings through proactive cost management strategies.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field; CPA or MBA preferred.
10+ years of progressive financial leadership experience, particularly within construction or home development sectors.
Proficiency in financial analysis, cost accounting, and budgeting software applications.
Excellent communication, analytical, and leadership skills with a strong attention to detail.
6. Preferred Experience
Demonstrated experience in the residential construction, building, or development industries.
Proven track record in managing multi-million dollar budgets and executing cost analysis strategies.
Familiarity with real estate financing, market trends, and regulatory financial compliance.
Prior experience in a C-suite role, contributing to strategic financial planning and corporate growth.
7. Physical Requirements
Primarily office-based work with long periods of sitting and computer use.
Occasional travel required between company offices and project sites.
Ability to lift up to 10 lbs occasionally for the handling of documents and files.
Work environment characterized by standard office conditions with minimal physical hazards.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard business hours typically from 9 AM to 5 PM, with occasional overtime during critical reporting periods.
Minimal travel required for meetings and site visits as needed.
Primarily office-based work with flexibility for remote work arrangements.
Availability to meet deadlines during month-end, quarter-end, and year-end financial closes.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range between $150,000 - $200,000 USD per annum.
Performance-based bonuses linked to achieving key financial milestones and KPIs.
Comprehensive benefits package including Health, Dental, Vision, and 401k plans.
Additional fringe benefits such as flexible work arrangements and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
A collaborative and innovative environment where every team member’s contribution drives the company’s success.
A committed focus on personal and professional growth with abundant opportunities for learning and advancement.
Emphasis on transparency, teamwork, and a balanced work-life approach to foster overall well-being.
A culture that values strong relationships with employees, clients, and community partners, inspiring collective achievement and success.
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
Where a developer's money goes before the first sale
Any CFO watches cash and budgets. A developer pays for land, streets and sewers long before a buyer closes. So timing and loans decide whether a good project makes it.
Loan interest may belong in the cost of the lots
Federal tax rules say interest must be added to the cost of real property a company produces. That covers lots it develops and homes it builds. The rule spares a company that passes the gross receipts test in tax code section 448(c), unless it is a tax shelter barred from cash accounting under section 448(a)(3). A developer with outside investors should check both points each year with its tax adviser. Crossing it changes when interest and other costs count against income. Source: eCFR: 26 CFR 1.263A-8, requirement to capitalize interest.
Nebraska districts can pay for streets and sewers
In Nebraska, a majority of the owners of land in a proposed district can form a sanitary and improvement district. The district puts in sewers, water lines, streets and other public works. Once the work is completed and accepted, it can issue bonds payable over as long as thirty years. The CFO models what the district will cover, when the developer gets paid back, and how its levy will show up in buyers' tax bills. Source: Nebraska Revised Statutes 31-755, sanitary and improvement district bonds.
New Hampshire towns hold security for unfinished roads
A New Hampshire planning board must accept a performance bond, irrevocable letter of credit or other security its rules name in place of finished streets and utilities at final plat approval. Road work can start without the bond. But it must be in place before any lot is sold or anyone asks for a building permit for a home there. Line up that security early, since it uses credit the next phase may need. Request release inspections in writing; the town must finish them within 30 business days. Source: New Hampshire RSA 674:36, subdivision regulations and improvement security.
Draws move when the inspector signs off
Development and building loans pay out in draws. The lender's inspector usually checks the work before money moves, so a late inspection can leave trades waiting for pay. Set a monthly draw calendar and collect lien waivers with each pay request. Keep the budget lines in your books matched to the lender's draw sheet.
How much residential developer CFOs make
The closest BLS group for residential developer CFOs is chief executives. Chief executives who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $213,510 a year ($102.65 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $213,990 median for chief executives in all industries. About 520 of the 204,350 chief executives in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
Most developer CFOs draw a salary, plus a bonus pegged to financial goals. BLS files CFOs under chief executives, so the figures shown include CEOs. This template's range is lower than that group's middle figure here.
Residential builders and remodelers
$213,510$213,510 median Middle half $157,070–$315,530 10th–90th $91,200–$392,560
All industries
$213,990$213,990 median Middle half $129,540–$356,200 10th–90th $75,700–$507,730
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
$91,200
$157,070
$213,510
$315,530
$392,560
All industries
$75,700
$129,540
$213,990
$356,200
$507,730
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
Has kept the books for both land development and home building
Builds a cash forecast by community that ties to loans and draw dates
Writes lender and investor reports that tie back to the books
Knows job costing and cost capitalization for homes and lots held for sale
Negotiates loan terms, extensions and lot releases with banks
Teach these on the job
Your chart of accounts and job cost codes
Each lender's draw forms and covenants
Your investors' reporting dates and formats
Local impact fees and permit charges
Expect builder accounting software such as Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate, Viewpoint, or NetSuite with job costing. Add an Excel model for each community. List your accounting system in the posting, and say so if the CFO will file draws through a lender's portal.
Residential developer CFO 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 · Funding a cost overrun
Development costs on a phase come in well over budget, and the loan won't cover the gap. Walk me through your options.
A strong answer: Confirms the overrun and cost to finish, then weighs contingency, value engineering, slowing the phase, a loan change and an equity call under the agreement, and lays out tradeoffs for the CEO and investors.
Behavioral · Making finance clear
Tell me about a time you made financial reporting clearer for leaders or investors who weren't finance people.
A strong answer: Cut the report to a few key numbers, explained what drove them, and can name a decision it helped.
Use these targets only as a first draft. Base yours on past communities, your loan covenants and how long lots take to sell where you build.
Budget Variance
Set each community's actual cost beside its approved budget, phase by phase, split into land, site work and house costs. Explain each overrun in the monthly report.
Cash Flow Stability
Track cash in and out each month against the forecast, including loan draws, closings and land payments. Note any month that needed an unplanned draw or an owner loan.
Return on Investment
Measure profit against the equity put into each community, from land purchase to the last closing. Report it per project so the board can compare deals.
Cost Savings
Credit only savings you can see in final costs, such as better loan terms, bid results or material pricing. Log who found each one.
Career path
Real estate senior at an accounting firmAudits developers and learns how land and loans show up in the books.
ControllerRuns the month-end close, job costs and lender draws.
Chief financial officerPlans cash and capital across every community.
Many developers put each project in its own LLC. That keeps one community's loan and investors apart from the next, and it makes profit easy to see per project. The cost is more tax returns, bank accounts and entries between companies. Settle the setup with your lawyer and tax adviser before buying the land. Moving a project later can bring transfer costs.
How much does a residential developer CFO make?
Chief executives who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $213,510 a year ($102.65 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $157,070 and $315,530 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How should a CFO plan for lots that don't sell on schedule?
Every month a finished lot sits, it costs interest, property tax, insurance and often association dues. Build a slow-sales case into each forecast. Know which loan extensions, price cuts or bulk lot sales you would use first. Share that plan with the CEO before the market turns, not after.
When does a developer need audited financial statements?
When a lender, surety or investor asks for them. That often happens as loans grow or outside equity comes in. A review or a compilation may be enough for smaller deals. Ask each lender what it will want at the next loan size. Then line up an audit firm that knows real estate well before you need it.
What does the 10-pound lifting line in this CFO template involve?
It ships word for word, and the physical side of the job is light. Expect to carry files, closing binders or a laptop between the office, the bank and a site trailer. You may also walk a site when a lender tours it. Talk through those tasks in the interview, and work out any accommodation a candidate asks for.
