Ed-Itorial June 2025: Yes, you can cut your marketing budget

Hi again — welcome back to Ed-itorial, where we cut through the noise and talk about what’s actually happening in the new home market. Let’s start with the numbers. Then, you’ll see why it’s okay (even advisable) to cut your marketing budget.

The Numbers

Last month, we predicted 20.1M individual movers were in-market; for June, that number has lifted slightly to 20.6M movers. However, this is lower than both March and April. 

The takeaway? Our Whengine™ data shows home mover forecasts are holding steady — not crashing, just cooling. But the real trend is in behavior: shoppers are more selective. More price-sensitive. More tuned into local economic conditions and online signals. And a real cohort of potential movers are priced out due to financing and rising prices.

If you’re running lead gen the same way you were a year ago, you’re likely filling your funnel with buyers who can’t actually close.

That’s a dangerous mismatch — and it’s costing you.

Your messaging, targeting, and spend all have to work harder. Smarter. Faster.

That means knowing what’s working — and turning off what’s not. If you know who’s moving, you can reach them. Audience Town can help.

Yes, You Can Cut Your Budget

This month, I want to talk about something a lot of us are feeling but not everyone is saying out loud: marketing budgets are getting slashed.

I’ve heard from CMOs who said things like:

“I’m not spending. Not testing. Not experimenting. I’m cutting. Full stop.” 

“My marketing budget is going to be cut by 50%.”

“I’m feeling the pressure, and I can’t spend right now. Maybe someday, but not today.”

That’s not just one person, that’s the mood in the industry right now. And I don’t blame them. Traffic is down. Cancellations are up. Many builders are cutting prices by 20-30%, according to NPR. It’s tough out there.

But here’s where I want to flip the script.

Everyone in this industry will tell you not to cut your marketing budget. We think it’s a little disingenuous when vendors who make their money on a percentage of your spend tell you “don’t cut your budget.” Their reasoning is not entirely self-serving: marketing when your competitors are cutting back can put  you ahead, and give your brand better reach and frequency to customers still out there. 

I’m here to tell you that you can reduce marketing budgets — and still drive leads and performance.

Here’s why:

It is controversial to state this but here goes: you can’t really create demand for housing like you can for cars, clothes, or travel. Property marketing is about capturing demand that wants to move, and getting them to prefer your homes. 

Cutting marketing spend doesn’t mean cutting home sales. In fact, when you have less room for error, you need more clarity than ever to know where the demand is coming from, then capture it. 

If there were 25 million people looking for a home in 2024, but now there are 20 million, you can waste a lot of money trying to persuade 5 million people who are not moving to buy a house.

In other words, it’s not about spending more. It’s about spending better targeted toward the right people, at the right time, with the right home. 

When you know:

• Who’s actually qualified to buy (hint: many aren’t)
• What channels are driving real performance
• Where your best buyers are showing up

You can turn a smaller budget into serious performance.

💡 Spend less. 

Then spend better. 

Then? Spend more only on the things that perform. 

That’s the promise - and the potential - of performance analytics.

What to Do

If you’re in “cut mode,” that doesn’t make you a bad marketer. It makes you a realist.

But here’s where I think we can help: Audience Town helps you shift from just “lead generation” to lead qualification. Our platform delivers actionable insights like:

• Who’s in your funnel…and are they even financially viable?
• Where are you spending that isn’t performing?
• How can you do more with the dollars you do have?

This is the era of marketing efficiency.

And the smartest builders I know are leaning into it.

I’ll leave you with this: guesswork is expensive. Now is the time to stop guessing, and start knowing what’s working, so you can do more of it.

We’re here to help you do just that, whenever you’re ready.

A final note

We’re really bullish about the potential for performance analytics in new construction, even and especially when the market conditions get more challenging. Audience Town is the perfect solution to help you navigate these changing headwinds with more clarity. In fact many of our clients started working with us years ago when the markets were bearish and times were tough - we are often hired to help with distressed communities or regions that need to be smarter. 

That’s why I’m so excited to share that former Zillow exec Jake Scherrer has joined the Audience Town team as our Head of Sales & Customer Experience, New Construction. He will be instrumental in evolving how we serve home builders.