In 2025, homebuilders and land developers across the U.S. are navigating economic headwinds from all sides. Stock market volatility is shaking buyer confidence. Tariff announcements are reigniting fears of rising material costs. And affordability pressures continue to suppress demand across regions — from high-growth states like Texas and Florida to more cautious luxury markets in California and the Northeast.
For homebuilders and land developers, the message is clear:
You can’t control the market, but you can control your efficiency.
That’s where TraceAir comes in.
Tariffs are back and cost-efficiency matters more than ever
Recent headlines have reignited a familiar pain point for builders: the return of tariffs on foreign goods, including critical building materials. According to recent reporting, new duties on goods imported from countries like China are already pushing up prices for everything from concrete to electrical components. And while these increases might take a while to be felt within the industry, NAHB estimates that Homebuilders could see the cost of a single-family home increase by $10,900 or more just from material price hikes.
At the same time, housing starts have slowed, and builders are sharpening their focus on operational efficiency. In response, many are doubling down on tools that deliver measurable returns on investment—and TraceAir is at the top of that list.
Rather than scaling back, builders are leaning into solutions like TraceAir to stay on schedule, avoid costly rework, and protect their margins on every project—even as material costs rise and timelines tighten.
Where expensive inefficiency hides (and how TraceAir helps)
Whether you’re facing higher material prices or cautious buyers, the smartest builders are focusing on efficiency at the source: the job site. Across land development and construction, the most expensive problems are often the ones that don’t get caught early.
Here’s how TraceAir helps reduce cost and protect timelines when it matters most:
1. Avoid misjudging earthwork balance
Over or underestimating earthwork can severely impact your project budget and margins. Avoid massive hauling costs and scheduling delays with TraceAir solutions like volume reports, cut-fill heatmaps, and cross-section analysis. Fine-tuning site balance before dirt is moved saves thousands.
Without TraceAir, we could have gone back and forth on this for another month, and at that point they would have been done with the job and we would have been stuck with that dirt. At the end of the project, we could have had a huge pile of dirt we would have to move. This could have easily cost us a several hundred thousand dollars.
— Tom Woliver, Co-President, Oxland
2. Preventing rework and costly delays
Rework is one of the most expensive risks in land development, especially when it’s caught too late. From lot layout issues to unexpected retaining walls, even small oversights can trigger massive redesigns, delayed schedules, and budget overruns.TraceAir helps teams catch these issues early—before staking, permits, or materials ever hit the site.
ROI: See how D.R. Horton saved over $350,000 by using TraceAir to prevent rework before staking and eliminate unnecessary retaining walls →
3. Verifying progress to avoid waste and overpayment
Missed dirt balance projections, misplaced utilities, and contractor payments based on assumptions, not measurable progress, all add up fast. TraceAir helps teams verify cut/fill balances, track on-site inventory, and flag potential waste before the bills pile up.
Now we can have real conversations with our contractors because we know what's actually happening on-site. We're not relying on someone's word or an outdated report—we have the data right in front of us.
—Cole Brooks, Land Development Manager, Ashton Woods
ROI: See how Ashton Woods saved $40,000–$50,000 per project by eliminating unnecessary final pad checks →
4. Reducing windshield time with remote site visits
With remote progress monitoring and mobile-friendly dashboards, TraceAir makes it easy to check job status and make decisions without as many time-consuming trips to job sites. For land managers and project leads covering multiple communities, reducing the number of trips to sites and their “windshield” time can add up to $8,000–$15,000 in savings per year.
5. Supporting faster, more confident decisions
From lot readiness and utility placement to sales planning and permitting, TraceAir provides a single source of truth that helps teams move faster with fewer errors.
Problems that once took weeks to resolve—and required surveys, site visits, and endless back-and-forth with contractors—can now be solved in under an hour with TraceAir.
— Brandon Byrd, Land Development Project Manager, D.R. Horton, Tennessee
ROI: At D.R. Horton, TraceAir became an essential part of scaling their development pace without losing coordination between teams.
📺 Watch how they did it →
Operational discipline is your competitive advantage
In challenging times, it's natural to look for ways to trim budgets. But cutting the solutions that make your team more efficient, more aligned, and more proactive is the fastest way to lose time, money, and trust.
Instead, smart builders are doing the opposite: doubling down on operational discipline and investing in solutions like TraceAir that save them more than they cost.
In unpredictable times, smart builders aren’t just reacting to external forces, they’re improving what they can control. TraceAir gives your team the visibility, accuracy, and speed to move forward with confidence no matter what the market throws your way.
👉 Book a demo to see where you could save on current and upcoming projects →