The Buyer Pipeline Is the Project — Why Demand Activation Is the Missing Link in Housing Production

For decades, housing conversations have focused almost entirely on supply. More units. More density. More developers. More incentives.

And yet, even when land is assembled, zoning is fixed, and financing is lined up, projects still stall. The missing piece is not always supply.

The missing piece is demand that’s been activated, prepared, and aligned.

In other words:

The buyer pipeline isn’t a byproduct of housing production. It is the project.

Why “Build It and They Will Come” No Longer Works

In many communities, housing is still planned as if buyers will magically appear once units exist.

But today’s buyers face:

• credit barriers

• student debt

• limited savings

• complex financing options

• lack of trusted guidance

• fear of making the wrong move

Without support, they stay on the sidelines even when they want to buy. When developers don’t see a ready buyer pool, they slow down or walk away.

This creates a feedback loop:

No buyers → no confidence → no builders → no housing

Breaking that loop requires treating demand activation as infrastructure, not marketing.

What Demand Activation Actually Means

Demand activation is not advertising.

It is the intentional process of:

• identifying real prospective buyers and renters

• helping them understand what they qualify for

• supporting credit and savings readiness

• aligning them with financing tools (like DPA)

• matching them to the right product at the right price

When done well, demand activation turns:

• renters into buyers

• interest into readiness

• readiness into closings

• closings into comps

• comps into builder confidence

This is how production becomes repeatable.

Why Developers Care More About Buyers Than Incentives

Developers don’t just ask, “Can I build this?” They ask, “Will it sell?”

A visible, qualified buyer pipeline answers that question.

When communities can show:

• 50, 100, or 200 ready buyers

• aligned income bands

• known price points

• access to financing

• trained lenders and realtors

…risk drops dramatically.

At that point, incentives become accelerators, not lifelines.

The Wabash Lesson (Revisited)

In Wabash, Indiana, nearly 100 buyers showed up after a mayor announced a down payment assistance program...before units were built.

The demand existed. The interest was real. But because product, builder capacity, and buyer readiness weren’t fully aligned, production stalled.

That experience reinforced a critical lesson:

If you activate buyers after units are designed, you’re already too late.

Demand must lead supply, not chase it.

Why the Buyer Pipeline Must Be Built Early

Internal locus communities activate buyers:

• before selecting final product types

• before locking site layouts

• before engaging builders

• before capital stacks are finalized

This allows communities to:

• right-size product

• avoid appraisal gaps

• reduce absorption risk

• improve design decisions

• increase builder confidence

Demand activation becomes a design input, not an afterthought.

How Club 720 Fits Into the System

Club 720 exists to operationalize demand activation.

It provides communities with:

• a live buyer and renter pipeline

• real-time readiness data

• access to DPA and financing tools

• coaching and guidance for households

• visibility for excellent lenders and realtors

• feedback loops that inform production

When paired with the H.O.M.E. Method and Mission BUILD, demand activation becomes a core part of the housing production system, not a separate program.

The Shift Communities Must Make

Housing production will not scale until communities stop asking:

“How do we attract developers?”

…and start asking:

“How do we activate our buyers?”

Because when buyers are ready, builders follow.

The Bottom Line

The buyer pipeline is not a nice-to-have. It is not outreach. It is not marketing.

It is the project.

Communities that understand this will:

• reduce risk

• accelerate production

• stabilize prices

• support workforce housing

• and outperform the market

Housing doesn’t start with a unit.

It starts with a person who’s ready and a system that knows how to support them.

SIDEBAR: Learning Lab — What Wabash Taught Us About Demand, Product, and Delivery

Wabash, Indiana has played an outsized role in shaping how we think about housing production, not because things went perfectly, but because they didn’t. After nearly 100 prospective buyers showed up through Club 720 following the City’s original down payment assistance announcement, the community did what many forward-thinking places do: it leaned into implementation. A catalyst site was identified, infrastructure was prepared, and a builder was engaged early to help guide layout and housing types.

That first builder proposed a familiar solution: ketchup — single-family homes — but on slightly smaller lots. It was an early nod toward density, but the accompanying production plan reflected very modest absorption and limited confidence in a market that had been historically underserved. Ultimately, that builder stepped away. A second builder then entered the picture with a compelling promise: high-quality, steel-framed homes built better, faster, and at least 15% below market pricing due to an innovative construction approach. Those claims were pressure-tested with local government leaders and regulators across the region, and each group came away impressed. With Wabash serving as the demonstration site, the mayor even agreed to help other communities observe the model in action.

On paper, the alignment looked strong. The builder paid a significant upfront amount, and the parties agreed to market-driven lot pricing to be paid upon the sale of each unit — a structure intended to both empower the community and maintain accountability.

Then reality set in. While four units were framed and sided quickly, progress stalled. Nearly a year later, those units remain incomplete. Along the way, marketing materials diverged from what was actually built, including rooflines that subtly but meaningfully altered the look and perceived quality of the homes. Pricing came in higher than expected, timelines became unclear, and specifications were incomplete or unavailable.

Without transparent cost structures, reliable schedules, or consistent product information, Club 720 could not effectively support interested buyers - despite real demand still being present. Reducing land prices to compensate wasn’t viable; without pricing transparency, that approach would have undermined both sound public policy and good business practice. We are still working through these challenges on behalf of the community, acting as a developer’s developer - but with far fewer tools than Mission BUILD will ultimately provide.

What this experience clarified is something critical:

Builders want to be part of the solution...but they cannot do everything.

Innovation alone is not enough. In fact, in this case, innovation cost more time, energy, and confidence than working with a traditional builder who had production mastered but lacked the right product and price point.

In both scenarios, pricing opacity and delivery risk remained unresolved.

The missing link - again - was alignment around the buyer.

What Wabash showed us is that successful housing production requires:

• trained builders who can deliver the right product

• at the right price

• with transparent costs

• on timelines that align with buyer readiness

• and financing tools that reduce risk, such as single-close construction loans paired with DPA

This is the gap Mission BUILD was created to fill: not to replace builders, but to de-risk delivery, enforce alignment, and protect both communities and markets as they invest.

The lesson is not that Wabash failed. In fact, the City has largely accomplished what it set out to do - turn a former downtown hospital site into a housing opportunity. The lesson is that leading with market potential works - but only when product, pricing, and delivery capacity are fully aligned to serve them.