Scale is now table stakes for private builders, Eastwood proves it

Private builders accounted for 39% of homebuilder acquisition activity in 2025 through April 2026, exceeding public builder acquirers at 26% and Japanese strategic buyers at 30%. Private builders gained share by targeting off-market parcels, leveraging promotions tied to public communities, using price and personalization, and adjusting product specifications with speed. They also benefit from entrepreneurial decision-making, local market knowledge, and cultural cohesion. Higher-for-longer capital costs, construction trade uncertainty, direct cost inflation and volatility, and constrained households are forcing private operators to treat scale as operationally required. Atlanta’s permit volume of 30,000 to 40,000 per year makes scale necessary to capture market share. Eastwood’s acquisition of Peachtree increases its Atlanta operating relevance and reflects a broader shift among well-capitalized multi-regional private builders.

"“Atlanta 30,000 to 40,000 permits a year and you just got to have scale to get your part of the market here,” Hutchins said. “For us, this is part of our strategy to help move that forward and get scale.” Hutchins' take may apply to the specifics of the Eastwood-PBG combo, but it underscores more than Eastwood's Atlanta ambitions."

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