John McManus of The Builder’s Daily and HousingWire spoke with Constellation leaders Chris Graham and Bob Swainhart about how builders are navigating consumer hesitation, operational pressure and the growing need for real-time insight.

That focus, McManus noted, comes amid uncertainty for buyers making the largest purchase of their lives — a reality that forces builders to stay adaptive while carefully allocating resources.

“Well, you know, there’s this idea that historically home builders have been hesitant to invest in technology solutions,” Swainhart said. “I think we’re way beyond that as a reality for home building. It’s almost become an expectation now.”

Technology adoption, he said, is no longer about experimentation or long-term transformation projects. It’s about accessing timely, accurate information that allows teams to respond before conditions change.

“Historically, that might have taken days or weeks,” Swainhart said. “And in some of our markets, days or weeks means the information you’re making decisions about is irrelevant.”

Chris Graham, President of Constellation HomeBuilder Systems, said that the need for speed and clarity reflects the unique risk profile builders face. Decisions made early in the lifecycle can ripple through years of development, construction and sales.

“We have a lot of respect for home builders. They take on a lot of risk,” Graham said. “They’re making decisions that, in some cases, they won’t feel the impact of until years down the road.”

As projects move from land acquisition to vertical construction and closing, access to consistent information becomes just as critical as the initial assumptions underlying a deal.

For Graham, the value comes from access and accuracy. “The biggest ROI or benefit comes from making sure that you have good information in the system, making sure that it’s available to your employees and extended team,” he said. “Whether they’re in the sales office or in the field.”

That foundation, he added, is what enables future innovation. “All this work and all this cleanup is worth it in terms of getting better data to your employees, making better decisions and preparing for technologies like AI and chatbots.”

Graham cautioned against adopting AI for its own sake. “What we’re really focused on is where we can add value,” he said. “Not just putting an enhanced Google in the system, but actually providing insights a purchasing person, a sales manager or a construction manager can use.”

Those capabilities can be applied across the homebuilding lifecycle. “It could be optimizing direct costs. It could be optimizing sales prices,” Graham said. “Understanding where the margin might be eroding. Understanding where construction schedules are less than optimal.”

The shift builders must make is clear. Success now hinges less on experimenting with technology and more on using real-time, reliable insight to safeguard margins and mitigate risk.

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