San Jose’s largest homebuilders managed to close just over 1,000 homes in 2025, even as the region’s housing shortage keeps biting. A new ranking of the South Bay’s 20 biggest production builders shows they wrapped up a little more than 1,086 closings and started roughly 821 new units for the year, a trickle of supply in a city that is supposed to plan for 62,200 new homes in the 2023–2031 RHNA cycle. Put next to that target, the output looks tiny.
The ranking, published today by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, is based on industry data compiled by Zonda Home. According to Zonda Home, the 20-builder group logged about 821 housing starts and just over 1,086 closings in 2025. Data reporter Ahavah Revis assembled the list for the Business Journal.
Builders’ Output Versus The City’s Housing Needs
Those 1,086 closings add up to only about 1.7% of San José’s 62,200-unit RHNA allocation for 2023–2031, according to the City of San José. The city’s housing element outlines how officials hope to hit that number, from zoning changes to streamlined approvals. Until production ramps up well beyond what the biggest builders are doing today, buyers are likely to keep seeing tight inventory and persistent price pressure across much of the valley.
Zonda’s Snapshot: Flat Starts And Tight Lot Markets
Zonda’s market reports and lot-supply index show builders still tapping the brakes. The firm expects housing starts in 2026 to be essentially flat compared with 2025 and points to signs of loosening lot supply in some California metros. “While the qualitative reviews were mixed, the hard data provided a clearer picture,” Zonda economist Ali Wolf wrote in the New Home Market Update. That combination, softer contract activity alongside pockets of available finished lots, helps explain why many builders are pouring energy into existing communities and buyer incentives instead of charging into a wave of brand-new developments, per Zonda Home.
What Local Policy Changes Mean
City leaders are betting that recent fee reforms and fast-track policies will help bend the curve, even as they admit those tools alone are not enough. The Mayor’s March budget memo argues that fee changes “led to thousands of new homes breaking ground” last year, a boost that staff say must now be backed up with continued approvals and steady land delivery if the pace is going to hold. Local reporting has also flagged ongoing state-level fights and implementation choices around laws such as SB 79, which are expected to influence where builders feel comfortable placing their next big South Bay bets…