Green Brick earned a 28% margin on its own land, Dream Finders 14.9%
Two Sun Belt builders with opposite land strategies reported a day apart, and the gap tells land sellers which buyer pays up front and which one wants an option.
By Katia Clara · · 3 min read
Green Brick Partners, which builds mostly in Texas, kept a 28.0% homebuilding gross margin in the third quarter [1]. Jacksonville-based Dream Finders Homes reported 14.9%, or 24.1% on its adjusted measure [2].
Green Brick owns most of its land and says it has locked in lot costs
Green Brick owned 40,869 lots at Sept. 30 and had 10,566 more under contract [1]. Co-CEO Jed Dolson said that by buying land early, “we believe we have largely locked in our lot costs” [1].
Its average delivered price still fell 12.1% to $446,700, incentives on new orders ran at 11%, and the cancellation rate rose to 8.2% from 6.7% [1]. Its mortgage arm originated 499 loans, up 42.2%, and earned $5.6 million in operating income [1].
Dream Finders paid for growth through the Beazer deal
Dream Finders closed 1,967 homes, 3% more than a year earlier, but net sales fell 15%, or rose 6% excluding built-for-rent homes [2]. The Beazer purchase adds California, Nevada, Indiana and Delaware, and the company expects about $100 million in cost savings [2]. It ended the quarter with 365 communities, up from 283, and impairments cut its margin by about 70 basis points [2].
Total debt rose to $1.996 billion at Sept. 30 from $1.606 billion at the end of 2025, and the company had $807.5 million at risk in option and land bank deposits and fees [3].
| Q3 2026 | Green Brick | Dream Finders |
|---|---|---|
| Homes closed | 978 | 1,967 |
| Average delivered price | $446,700 | $459,148 |
| Gross margin | 28.0% | 14.9% |
| Cancellation rate | 8.2% | 12.7% |
| Communities at quarter end | 104 | 365 |
| Lots | 40,869 owned, 10,566 under contract | 52,574 controlled |
| Backlog value | $379.3 million | $1.07 billion |
How to use this
For buyers of new homes in Texas and the Southeast
- Ask Green Brick’s sales offices for the dollar value of the incentive on your home and put it toward the rate. At its $446,700 average price with 10% down, we calculate principal and interest at about $2,740 a month at Freddie Mac’s 7.24% average [4] and about $2,473 at 6.24%.
- Check whether a former Beazer community has changed its incentives or preferred lender since the deal closed on Oct. 20 [2], and get the current offer in writing.
For land and lot sellers
- Pitch raw or entitled land to builders that buy and develop it themselves. Green Brick owns about four of every five lots it controls and describes its approach as owning and developing land itself [1].
- Ask Dream Finders for a larger non-refundable deposit. Its controlled lot pipeline shrank 17% to 52,574 from 63,121 at the end of 2025, we calculate [2], and it plans deal abandonment charges in the fourth quarter [2].
For investors and lenders
- Separate one-time costs from the run rate. Dream Finders’ SG&A rose to 15.3% of homebuilding revenue from 11.9%, and $23 million of that was Beazer deal costs [2].
- Track Dream Finders’ debt as Beazer is folded in. Debt was $1.996 billion before the deal closed [3], and the company has reiterated about 9,250 closings for 2026 on its own [2].
This is market commentary, not investment advice.
Sources
- [1]Green Brick Partners, Inc., Green Brick Partners reports third quarter 2026 results (SEC Form 8-K, Exhibit 99), Oct 28, 2026.
- [2]Dream Finders Homes, Inc., Dream Finders Homes third quarter 2026 results (SEC Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1), Oct 29, 2026.
- [3]Dream Finders Homes, Inc., Quarterly report for the period ended Sept. 30, 2026 (SEC Form 10-Q), Nov 3, 2026.
- [4]Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week of Oct. 29, 2026, Oct 29, 2026.
