Quiet 2026 hurricane season forecast, risk remains for builders

The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season is underway, and despite predictions of a quieter year, experts are urging the housing industry not to ease up on storm-resilient building. NOAA’s 2026 outlook calls for 8–14 named storms, 3–6 hurricanes, and 1–3 major hurricanes. That follows 2025, the first seaso

Analysis: The average American needs nearly $900K to retire comfortably

A new analysis from Investopedia found that a single American who retires at 65 needs roughly $898,000 in savings to fund a comfortable retirement. But the required nest egg varies sharply — from about $644,000 in North Dakota to more than $1 million in New Jersey, Hawaii, California and Washington,

Eye on the wrong prize: How the myth of loan officer productivity is costing lenders

Few phrases surface more often in mortgage boardrooms than “loan officer productivity.” Leaders understandably want more loans per originator, more dollar volume per head and greater efficiency across the sales force. The metric feels clean and controllable, offering a simple way to measure performa

Berkshire Hathaway to buy Taylor Morrison in $8.5 billion all-cash deal

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has agreed to acquire Taylor Morrison Home Corporation in an all-cash deal valuing the national homebuilder at approximately $8.5 billion, the companies announced Friday. Under the definitive agreement, Berkshire will pay $72.50 per share in cash, a 24% premium to Taylor Morr

Housing inventory just turned negative year over year

Housing inventory officially went negative year-over-year last week. This might be a shocker to some people, but not for readers of our Housing Market Tracker, since I believe the housing inventory story started shifting in mid-June of 2025. Lets go over last week’s data and explain what’s happening

How social media became 100% of a Las Vegas real estate agent’s pipeline

One video. 320,000 views. Five closings. That’s what happened when I posted a short video explaining down payment assistance programs not as a polished advertisement, but as the kind of casual, straight-talk conversation I’d have with a friend. The response didn’t just surprise me. It changed how I

Beazer takeover bid tests book value and returns

Hostile takeovers don’t happen often among publicly traded companies in America, and they’re even rarer in U.S. homebuilding. So a little over a week of public quiet during Dream Finders Homes’ hostile pursuit of Beazer Homes should not be mistaken for inaction. Rather, this may be the phase when th

As Florida’s housing market finds its footing, sellers still face pricing realities

Florida’s housing market is settling into a period of measured stability, with pending sales on the rise and inventory levels flattening. Sellers who cling to pandemic-era pricing continue to face resistance from buyers navigating high mortgage rates and affordability constraints. As of May 23, Hous

Tennessee brokers brace for Zillow listing cutoff amid Realtracs dispute

A little over a week after real estate agents and brokers in the Chicagoland area saw their listings disappear from Zillow after Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) suspended its data feed to the listing portal giant, real estate professionals in Tennessee are preparing for the same possibility.  In an

Will getting rid of property taxes make Florida more affordable?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposal to phase out property taxes for most primary homeowners is rapidly becoming one of the state’s most consequential housing debates in years. Supporters argue it could ease affordability pressures while critics warn it may fuel higher home prices and reshape local t

Scissor stairs may lower Washington multifamily building costs

Zoning reform has grabbed most of the attention in housing policy circles, but sometimes it’s the unglamorous, technical building code changes that save builders real money. Single-stair reform was the first to sweep through state legislatures and city halls as a tool to spur missing-middle housing.

StreetMatrix adds Arizona and Utah to its housing index

StreetMatrix has expanded its independent real estate analytics platform into Arizona and Utah, adding two fast-growing Western states to a housing index that already covers California and Nevada, the company announced on Wednesday. StreetMatrix was created by housing analyst Jonathan Miller, presid

Rocket expands on VantageScore 4.0 pilot for agency, VA loans

Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Pro provided additional details this week on their rollout of VantageScore 4.0 in mortgage lending after officially announcing last week that they have started using VantageScore 4.0 alongside Classic FICO scores. Heather Lovier, chief operating officer of Rocket Companies

Clariti AI Studio launches to help cities solve permitting delays

As municipalities adopt AI tools to cut days or weeks from permitting and approval timelines, one company has introduced a free training initiative for local governments taking baby steps to explore deploying the technology internally.  Clariti recently announced the launch of Clariti AI Studio, whi

Realty ONE Group launches ZONE Pro AI platform

Realty ONE Group International has launched ZONE Pro, a rebuilt proprietary tech platform that uses artificial intelligence to centralize business operations, referrals and training for its more than 20,000 real estate professionals, the company announced on Tuesday. The Laguna Niguel, California-ba

The case for Non-QM: Serving the new American workforce

I’d like to tell you about someone who did everything right. She built a wedding photography business from the ground up. What started as a side hustle became a full-time operation, then a team, then something that could support not just her, but her entire family. Her income wasn’t inconsistent, bu

Anthony Lamacchia: Zillow-MRED battle shows risks of ‘listing war’

I interviewed Anthony Lamacchia on this episode of the HousingWire Daily podcast about mounting tensions over listing distribution and MLS rules. He is the founder and CEO of Lamacchia Realty and Crush It in Real Estate — and a fiery advocate for Realtors. Lamacchia had a lot to say about the ongoin

CMLS urges antitrust regulators to back MLS collaboration

The Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS) has asked federal antitrust regulators to explicitly recognize multiple listing services (MLSs) as pro-competitive collaborations as the government updates guidance on how competitors can work together. In a May 26 comment letter to the U.S. Department

Fidelity data shows record retirement savings, rising Roth adoption

Retirement savers continued to build momentum in early 2026, even as markets fluctuated, according to the latest quarterly analysis from Fidelity Investments. The firm reported that total savings rates reached record levels in the first quarter. Combined employer and employee contributions for 401(k

New home sales stumble in April, as affordability pressures mount

New data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that new home sales fell well short of economists’ and investors’ expectations in April, amid a challenging spring selling season marked by elevated mortgage rates, persistent inflation and broader economic and geopolitical uncertainty.  Sales of newly