For Austin, Texas, home-builder Leonard Bullard, late 2020 and early 2021 felt like a California gold rush.
As out-of-state buyers flocked to the Texas capital, Mr. Bullard’s firm Urban ATX operated at maximum capacity, scooping up dirt and building luxury homes as fast as it could. At one point, Mr. Bullard had 55 homes above $2 million in the pipeline. Now, he’s down to 25 in various stages of development and wants to cut that number in half amid a market slowdown.