Dream Finders Posts Record Closings, Narrower Profit

The Tip Desk · November 10, 2026 · 3 min read

The Jacksonville homebuilder closed 1,967 homes in the third quarter and reported net income of $7 million, or less than a one-cent loss a share, after $23 million of Beazer deal costs.

Dream Finders Homes (DFH), the Jacksonville homebuilder, closed a record 1,967 homes in the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, up 3% from 1,915 a year earlier, and posted homebuilding revenues of $942 million, a 3% increase from $917 million.

That revenue gain reversed a first-quarter 14% drop to $837 million and a second-quarter decline to $1.0 billion from $1.1 billion. The company said closings and strategic lot sales drove the increase, with higher revenues on buyer-owned land a lesser factor, partly offset by a lower average selling price.

Net sales fell 15% to 1,712 from 2,021, a sharp turn from second-quarter net sales of 2,232, up 15% year over year, and first-quarter net sales of 2,408, up 19%. Excluding built-for-rent activity, net sales increased 6%. The cancellation rate was 12.7%.

Average selling price of homes closed declined to $459,148 from $476,962. The company attributed the ASP decline largely to changes in geographic and product mix. Sales incentives as a percentage of homebuilding revenues were 56 basis points, or 7%, lower.

Homebuilding gross margin compressed to 14.9% from 17.5%. The company said the decrease was primarily from higher land and financing costs, partially offset by direct cost reductions and cycle-time improvements, with inventory impairment charges of about 70 basis points. Adjusted homebuilding gross margin was 24.1%. Sequential homebuilding gross margin improved 70 basis points from the second quarter’s 14.2%.

Selling, general and administrative expense rose 32% to $144 million, and SG&A as a percentage of homebuilding revenues increased 340 basis points to 15.3% from 11.9%. The company said the increase was mostly due to $23 million of Beazer transaction costs and, to a lesser extent, higher forward-commitment costs from rising mortgage rates. Excluding those costs, SG&A was $121 million and 12.8%.

Pre-tax income fell to $13 million from $61 million. Excluding the $23 million of Beazer acquisition costs, pre-tax income was $37 million. Net income attributable to DFH was $7 million, or less than a one-cent loss a share, compared with $47 million, or $0.47 a share. Excluding Beazer costs, net income was $27 million, or $0.22 a share. Return on participating equity declined to 6.6% from 22.0%.

Founder, Co-Chairman and CEO Patrick Zalupski said buyers faced a challenging summer as rising mortgage rates further strained affordability and weighed on consumer confidence. He said the company closed 1,967 homes in the quarter and 6,127 homes year-to-date, both records, and that year-to-date net sales increased 6% compared with the prior year. He said operational and cost-reduction improvements outlined last quarter are being implemented across 365 communities and that overhead costs are beginning to trend lower.

Active communities increased to 365 from 283 a year earlier. Backlog declined to 2,064 homes valued at $1.1 billion from 2,319 homes valued at $1.2 billion as of June 30, 2026. Backlog ASP rose to $517,900 from $497,716. The controlled lot pipeline declined to 52,574 from 54,091 as of June 30. Total liquidity fell to $521 million from $605 million.

On October 20, 2026, the company completed its acquisition of Beazer Homes USA in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $2.2 billion. The deal expands the footprint into California, Nevada, Indiana and Delaware and broadens the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Zalupski said the company expects additional nonrecurring transaction and integration costs in the fourth quarter and anticipates recording deal-abandonment charges as it evaluates the combined land portfolio. He said the company is the sixth-largest homebuilder in the United States and reiterated 2026 full-year guidance of approximately 9,250 home closings.