D.R. Horton poised to be 2026 top seller

D.R. Horton holds the lead among Las Vegas builders with sales through the first nine months of 2026 and is poised to take over the top spot from Lennar, which has held the title since 2022.

D.R. Horton recorded 1,172 net sales through September, just above Lennar’s 1,154, according to Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research.

Lennar chalked up 1,796 sales in 2025 to edge out the 1,663 by D.R. Horton. Lennar had 2,142 in 2024 to take the top spot over D.R. Horton’s 1,917. Lennar also led in 2023 and 2022.

KB Home was the last builder to hold the top spot before Lennar in 2021.

KB ranks third this year with 782 net sales, just ahead of the 762 by the Pulte Group. Last year, Pulte ranked third and KB Home fourth.

Sekisui House is fifth with 578 net sales. It was seventh a year ago under the Richmond American brand.

Century Communities is sixth with 391 net sales, the same ranking as 2025.

Taylor Morrison is seventh with 231 net sales. It was ninth to end 2025.

Touchstone living is eighth with 219 net sales after placing 10th in 2025.

Toll Brothers is ninth with 212 net sales, down from fifth in 2025.

Tri Pointe Homes is 10th with 204 net sales after not placing in the top 10 to end 2025.

Beazer Homes fell out of the top 10 after ranking eighth in 2025.

New home closings at 6,143 are down 20 percent through the first nine months of the year as builders struggle with higher mortgage rates in excess of 7 percent and affordability deterring buyers.

“The industry is definitely doing the things it does during a downturn as far as personnel,” Home Builders Research CEO Andrew Smith said. “The builders are cutting back.”

Smith predicts D.R. Horton will end the year on top over Lennar with both producing higher volumes than other builders. Lennar and D.R. Horton have gone back and forth month-to-month in the rankings with Pulte making an appearance once in a while, Smith said.

“I lean toward D.R. Horton (leading at the end of the year) because they have a little more going on in the lower price ranges and in North Las Vegas and Cadence (in Henderson) that are their big engines of sales that are still churning well relative to the rest of the market,” Smith said.

KB Home is typically closer in rankings, but the winding down of the Inspirada master plan in west Henderson has impacted their totals, Smith said.

“I think KB is sort of at a spot in their cycle where they don’t have as much activity, but they have things coming in the pipeline,” Smith said.

New home sales typically slow at the end of the year, and Smith said he doesn’t see that changing. Sales typically pick up in January and in the spring, but it’s difficult to predict what will happen in the coming months.

“There’s so much uncertainty and even more than most times,” Smith said. “I think most people in the industry are expecting things to remain how they are for a while. It will be interesting to see come January because there’s usually a big spike (in traffic and sales) at the beginning of the year. I don’t know if that’s going to happen right now because of interest rates and everything else.”

Smith said inventory levels of builders are less than they have been over the past year as evidenced by permits are down 24 percent for the year.

“The number of starts are down so they will be able to work through some of this inventory,” Smith said.