Why housing demand is up and inventory is down in 2026

One year ago, I talked about how we were about to see a positive shift in the housing market, and with our weekly Housing Market Tracker articles and podcast, I’ve made sure to explain what has really been going on in the housing market since then and what hasn’t. As we sit here on a glorious weeken

HUD would permit multi-story manufactured homes without a permanent chassis

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published a document with a proposed rule aimed at spurring more multi-story manufactured housing supply.  The rule would expand the definition of a manufactured home and support multi-story manufactured housing construction. It w

Report lays out wealth, housing gaps facing LGBTQ+ Gen Z

A report released by the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance says LGBTQ+ members of Gen Z may face greater obstacles than heterosexual peers in building wealth, advancing in their careers and achieving homeownership. The organization, which represents about 3,000 members, released its sixth annual LGBTQ+ Re

Colorado’s Drive It Home financing kicks off with affordable condos

A small condominium project in Denver’s West Colfax neighborhood may be the best evidence yet that Colorado’s housing reforms are producing real results. The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority this month closed a $5.7 million low-interest construction loan for Wolff Street Flats, a 23-unit affor

Lennar Q2 2026 results test the land-light model

While the world gets swept up in the euphoria of SpaceX’s IPO, some of the rest of us remain anchored to a more down-to-earth – but no less fascinating – domain, where gravity’s still a thing. In this realm, grounded as it is with a you-pick-it array of supply and demand challenges, Lennar just deli

2026 RealTrends Verified: Journey from intern to owner fuels David Banks Team’s record year

When Teddy Piper returned home after college in 2012, he wasn’t certain what direction his career would take. Fourteen years later, he is broker-owner of one of Maine’s top-producing real estate firms — helping guide the David Banks Team at REMAX by the Bay through a record-setting year. The Portlan

AI-native lending platform Copperlane lands $4.1M seed round

Copperlane, an AI-native mortgage origination platform, has raised $4.1 million in seed funding to scale an autonomous AI mortgage loan officer that aims to compress hours of document reviews into minutes, the company announced. The round was led by TQ Ventures, with participation from Y Combinator,

Markets await Warsh’s first meeting as Fed chair

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will lead his first policy meeting next week as investors increasingly question whether interest rates could rise again if inflation remains stubbornly high. The Fed is widely expected to leave rates unchanged, but markets will be closely watching Warsh’s first pres

Google listing ads raise questions about IDX licensing

Google made waves on Thursday, announcing the nationwide expansion of its real estate listing ads. A pilot program version of these listing ads launched in select markets in December 2025 and, at the time, the move caused quite a stir with some fearing the impact this may have on real estate portals

2026 RealTrends Verified: Ivan & Mike Team ride ultra-luxury wave in Miami

Ivan & Mike Team, a Compass-affiliated ultra-luxury real estate group serving South Florida’s high-end housing market, finished No. 19 among medium-sized teams by sales volume in RealTrends Verified’s 2026 rankings — recording $298.32 million in transaction volume during 2025. Led by co-founders Iva

Guild pushes GSEs to scale residual income analysis

Guild Mortgage is advocating for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to adopt residual income analysis at scale through ongoing conversations and data sharing. The California-based lender has used this model since 2022 in its “Complete Rate Program” that’s available for government loans. Because Guild retain

Veteran housing policy needs a preservation strategy 

America has made a promise to its veterans. Their service will be honored not just in words, but in how they live long after they return home. Yet much of the national conversation around veteran housing remains focused on homelessness and affordability, while less attention is paid to whether aging

Continuity is becoming the new competitive advantage in homebuilder sales

For decades, the homebuying journey followed a relatively predictable path. Buyers would visit communities, meet with sales representatives to gather information and gradually move toward a purchase decision. Today, that process looks dramatically different. Modern homebuyers move fluidly between we

Stylecraft Builders’ micro approach to margin, pace and growth

Stylecraft Builders, a second-generation-led Texas homebuilder more than four decades in the making, is not letting homebuilding’s underwhelming 2026 Spring Selling Season go to waste.  Nor, in spite of hesitant homebuyer demand plaguing many of Texas’ submarkets, has Stylecraft’s momentum slowed. T

Buffini & Company adds three senior executives to scale coaching

Buffini & Company has added three senior executives — Steve Pacinelli as chief revenue officer, JB Bolton as chief operating officer and Ethan Beute as chief ambassador — as the coaching firm looks to scale its relationship-driven business model in an AI-focused market, the company announced earlier

Rechat adds custom app building features

Rechat has expanded its platform to allow brokerages, teams, technology providers and vendors to build and deploy custom branded applications directly on top of its real estate operating system. Custom app features are available immediately. The initiative builds on work that began more than a year

New York reform prioritizes housing production over climate review

New York state’s most sweeping reform of a 50-year-old environmental review law is on the books. Gov. Kathy Hochul secured the changes as part of the state budget, cutting red tape on housing construction. Developers, municipalities and environmental advocates are watching to see how the law works i

eXp World completes AGNT name change, relocates to Texas

eXp World Holdings, Inc. has completed its corporate transformation to AGNT, Inc., including a formal name change and a move of its legal domicile from Delaware to Texas, the company announced Thursday. The holding company for eXp Realty, NextHome, FrameVR.io and SUCCESS Enterprises now trades on Na

2026 RealTrends Verified: Family ties drive success for The Horak Group

Long before she became a real estate agent helping lead one of the nation’s top-performing small teams, Molly Horak was spending her days in an infant carrier beneath her mother’s desk. The story has become part of The Horak Group’s family lore — and part of the reason the team’s connection to REMAX

Jay Clayton tapped for DNI role as Congress pushes back on Pulte

President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that Bill Pulte’s tenure as acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) will be temporary. He announced on social media the nomination of Jay Clayton, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, to the permanent position. “Few people anywhere in