A residential developer sales manager heads the sales staff for every subdivision the company builds, from the model home to the closing table. They set sales goals by phase, coach the reps, approve contract terms and price changes, and keep the sold-lot list in step with construction.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Oversee and drive residential construction sales performance by setting clear sales targets, supervising home sales representatives, and managing closing processes to ensure profitable growth and customer satisfaction.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and implement strategic sales plans to meet revenue goals within the residential building and development market.
Supervise and mentor home sales representatives, ensuring continuous professional development and alignment with company objectives.
Manage the entire sales process from lead generation to closing, ensuring compliance with industry regulations and company standards.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams including marketing, operations, and finance to optimize sales strategies and customer engagement.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct daily performance reviews with the sales team to assess progress toward individual and team targets.
Monitor and analyze sales data to identify trends, challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
Engage with high-potential leads and personally manage key client accounts to foster long-term relationships.
Coordinate and participate in property viewings, negotiations, and closing meetings to secure successful transactions.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Sales Revenue per Quarter: $500,000 or higher per quarter.
Closing Rate: Achieve a minimum closing rate of 60% of all presented opportunities.
Lead Conversion Rate: Convert at least 35% of qualified leads into sales.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: Maintain an average rating of greater than 4.8 stars on post-sale surveys.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field.
Minimum of 5 years in sales management or a similar role within the residential construction or home services industry.
Strong leadership and team management skills with proven ability to motivate and develop staff.
Excellent communication, negotiation, and interpersonal skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience in residential building or property development sales.
Familiarity with real estate laws, compliance standards, and the home construction market.
Proven track record of exceeding sales targets in a competitive market.
Experience working with CRM software and data analytics tools in a sales environment.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to conduct onsite visits at residential properties and attend offsite meetings.
Capability to travel to project locations and customer sites as needed.
Comfortable working in varied weather conditions during property inspections.
Occasional requirement to lift up to 25 lbs during equipment handling or property staging.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional evening and weekend work may be required during peak sales periods or client events.
Moderate travel across the local region to residential project sites and client meetings.
Primarily office-based with frequent field visits and in-person client interactions.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive base salary range between $80,000 and $100,000 per year, commensurate with experience.
Performance-based bonuses and commission structure based on sales achievements.
Comprehensive benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance.
401(k) plan with company match and additional fringe benefits such as paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company fosters a collaborative and innovative work environment where growth, accountability, and customer satisfaction are at the forefront.
We are dedicated to empowering our employees, encouraging a culture of continuous learning and career advancement, while emphasizing work-life balance and community engagement.
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 changes for a sales manager at a residential developer
This manager sells lots and unbuilt homes on paper, under contract rules that resale homes don't carry.
Selling a lot without a house
The Interstate Land Sales Act doesn't reach a lot sold under a contract that obligates the company to build the house within two years, a lot sold to a builder, or a lot in a subdivision of fewer than 25 lots. Outside those and the act's other exemptions, buyers get federal cancellation rights that the contract must spell out. Have the lawyer write the lot-only contract and keep reps to that form. Source: U.S. Code: 15 U.S.C. 1702, Interstate Land Sales Act exemptions.
Nebraska condo buyers get 15 days to cancel
A Nebraska developer selling townhomes as condominium units generally must give each buyer a public-offering statement no later than the contract date. Unless the buyer got it more than 15 days before signing, the buyer may cancel before closing, within 15 days of first receiving it, without penalty, and payments come back. The buyer may also have the structure and mechanical systems inspected at their own cost. Build both into the contract-to-closing timeline. Source: Nebraska Revised Statute 76-883, condominium public-offering statement and purchaser's rights.
Appraisers look inside and outside the subdivision
For a loan sold to Fannie Mae, the appraisal of a home in a new subdivision needs at least one closed sale from inside the subdivision and one from outside it, and the appraiser must discuss sales concessions and upgrades. For one of the first homes sold, two pending sales inside can stand in for the closed one. Before raising prices on a new phase, check what the last closings will support, because the appraiser starts there. Source: Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-08, comparable sales for new subdivisions.
Set selection deadlines with construction
Buyers of to-be-built homes choose options after they sign. Work out with the operations manager the last day for each choice, by stage of the build, and make those dates part of every contract meeting. A late cabinet change can push back that home's closing and the trade schedule behind it.
Limit contracts tied to a buyer's home sale
A buyer who must sell a current home first can tie up a lot for months. Decide how many of these contracts the team can carry in each phase, how long the buyer gets, and whether the lot stays on the market as a backup. Review each one weekly, since a stalled sale can leave a finished home without a buyer.
How much residential developer 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.
Expect a salary paired with commission or a bonus per closing. BLS puts typical pay for sales managers in residential building well above the template's base, so the incentive plan does much of the work in a competitive offer.
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 reps on tours, follow-up and closing, using real buyer conversations
Reading purchase contracts, addenda and option sheets line by line
Pricing judgment on base prices, lot premiums and incentives by phase
A weekly sales and backlog report the general manager trusts
Calm handling of upset buyers during a long build
Teach these on the job
Every plan, spec level and option the company offers
Land sales and condominium rules, with the company's lawyer
How lenders and appraisers treat new-construction sales
The homebuilder software and CRM the company runs
Each phase's construction schedule and release plan
The work runs on a CRM for leads and follow-up, e-signature for contracts and addenda, and a homebuilder system such as NEWSTAR or BuildTopia for lots, options and pricing. A sold-lot board shared with operations keeps sales and construction working from one list.
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 · Backlog quality
Your team hit its contract goal, but the backlog includes many buyers who may not qualify for a loan. What do you do?
A strong answer: Reviews each buyer's loan status with lenders, requires prequalification at contract, follows up on at-risk deals, and adjusts the forecast.
Behavioral · Developing reps
Tell me about a time you turned a struggling sales rep into a solid performer.
A strong answer: Found the specific gap, coached with ride-alongs or role-play, set measurable goals, and can describe the improvement.
Read the template's targets as samples only. Base yours on your own closings and lead flow, phase by phase, and revisit them when mortgage rates move.
Sales Revenue per Quarter
Add the prices of homes and lots that closed in the quarter, net of incentives, from the closing statements. Show signed contracts beside it as the pipeline for the next one.
Closing Rate
Define a presented opportunity, such as a buyer who toured with a rep and saw pricing, then divide contracts signed by those opportunities from the same weeks.
Lead Conversion Rate
Divide contracts by leads that met your qualified test, using the CRM's source field, for each community. Count cancellations on their own line so a strong month isn't overstated.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Send a short survey after closing and another after the first warranty visit, and report scores by rep and community. Read every comment, not just the stars.
Career path
Sales representativeSells from a model home and learns contracts, options and lot pricing.
Senior sales representativeOpens new phases, trains newer reps and covers deals when the manager is out.
Sales managerLeads selling in every subdivision and owns pricing requests and contract terms.
General managerTakes on land, construction and finance along with sales.
Other roles in a residential builders & developers business
When should a sales manager push for more spec homes?
When buyers want to move in within a few months, or when a rate buydown needs a quick closing, finished or nearly finished homes sell faster than plans on paper. Too many specs tie up cash and crews. Give the general manager a monthly view of what's selling, spec against to-be-built, by plan and price, so starts follow real demand.
How much does a residential developer 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 the sales manager review with construction each week?
Sold lots without a start date, homes whose closing dates moved, open selections, and coming walk-throughs. Bring a short list and leave with dates. A rep who promises a closing date that construction never agreed to sets up a buyer complaint months later.
What if a buyer wants out of a contract partway through the build?
Start with the contract: what it says about cancellation, deposits and money already spent on options. Go through it with the buyer, offer a move to another plan or lot if that fixes the problem, and bring in the company's lawyer before refusing or refunding anything. Log every cancellation and its reason, since a pattern by plan or rep shows what to fix.
Can one person run both sales and marketing at a developer this size?
It can work while only one or two communities are selling, if an agency handles ad buying and design. Split the jobs when lead follow-up starts slipping, because the weekly coaching of reps is the first thing to suffer when one person does both.
Which jobs on a developer's sites match the template's weather and 25-pound lines?
The template keeps its site visit, travel, weather and 25-pound lines. At a developer, that looks like leading buyers along unpaved streets and through framed homes, standing at a lot stake in wind or snow while a buyer pictures the house, and carrying sign panels, staging pieces or sample boards from a car into the model. Tell candidates which of these the job really includes.
