Housing Market

M/I Homes booked a second-quarter record of 2,387 new contracts even as deliveries and profit declined, with the homebuilder pointing to a sharply improved cancellation rate and record book value per share.

Florida’s homebuilding permit activity fell 7% through the first half of 2026, extending a slowdown that began last year, though several counties bucked the statewide trend with double-digit gains.

International buyers spent $45.3 billion on U.S. homes in the year through March 2026, down 19% as transactions fell to their second-lowest level since 2009, NAR’s annual report finds.

Canada-based users searching for U.S. homes on Redfin fell 15.3% year over year in June, extending a two-year decline of roughly 37%, with San Antonio and Austin posting the steepest metro-level drops.

PulteGroup CEO Ryan Marshall called the housing market ‘pretty good’ on CNBC, even as the homebuilder’s Q2 revenue fell 11% and closings dropped 8%, offset by a 6% rise in new orders.

The median single-family lot value fell to $59,000 in 2025 from $60,000 in 2024, NAHB’s analysis of Census data shows, ending six straight years of record highs even as some regions kept climbing.

The Census Bureau’s Q2 2026 Housing Vacancy Survey shows the national homeownership rate flat at 65.0%, while homeownership among adults under 35 fell to 35.2%.

The National Fair Housing Alliance and Massachusetts Fair Housing Center sued HUD and Secretary Scott Turner in federal court, alleging a restructured funding program would cut off enforcement grants to more than 100 nonprofit fair housing organizations nationwide.

Buyers of newly built homes spend about $8,750 more than non-moving households in their first year of ownership, while existing-home buyers spend roughly $8,674 more, according to a National Association of Home Builders analysis — but the two groups spend that money very differently.

Gov. Whitmer signed a law barring institutional investors owning more than 100 Michigan homes from buying single-family houses, part of a package adding housing tax credits and zoning reforms.

A Leon County judge heard arguments over the ballot wording of Florida’s proposed homestead property tax amendment, which would raise the exemption to $250,000 by 2028 if approved in November.

S&P Cotality Case-Shiller data for May show a 1.1% annual gain nationally, with Chicago and New York leading and several Western and Sunbelt metros declining as inflation outpaces price growth.

Cotality’s Q1 2026 Homeowner Equity Insights Report shows mortgaged U.S. homeowners hold a record $17.9 trillion in equity, with HELOC borrowing rising 10% year over year even as mortgage rates climb.

Naples closed home sales rose 16.5% year over year in June, part of a broader Florida rebound in sales, prices, and pending activity, according to state and local Realtor data.

New RGB income data show stabilized tenants earn far less than market-rate renters on average, but board member Arpit Gupta says a meaningful share earn six figures, reviving a debate over how well the program targets lower-income households.

A new federal law, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, links Community Development Block Grant funding to how fast cities build housing and creates a $200 million annual grant fund for zoning reform, but implementation faces a leaner HUD.

Universal Insurance Holdings posted a 68.7% jump in Q2 net income, crediting Florida’s litigation reforms. State regulators point to falling lawsuits and rate cuts as evidence the reforms are working.

National home prices rose 0.9 percent year over year in June 2026, the fastest annual pace since August 2025, according to First American Data & Analytics’ latest Home Price Index report.

Florida recorded the nation’s highest foreclosure rate in the first half of 2026, with one in every 373 homes filed on, as U.S. foreclosure activity climbed 21% year over year, ATTOM reported.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced $109.6 million in Proposition 1 funding for 278 permanent supportive homes statewide, including 103 units reserved for veterans, through California’s Homekey+ program.

Only 3,400 multifamily units are expected to be added to the Las Vegas Valley’s apartment stock in 2026, the lowest annual total since 2021, as tighter lending cools a pandemic-era building boom.

Chicago’s industrial vacancy rate climbed to 5.06% in the second quarter, according to Colliers, as absorption slowed and previously leased warehouse space returned to the market.

Manhattan’s median rent hit a record $5,295 in June 2026, up 8% year-over-year, according to The Corcoran Group’s June market report, as listings fell to a three-year low.

Berkshire Hathaway has closed its $8.5 billion acquisition of Taylor Morrison, merging the homebuilder with Berkshire’s Clayton Properties Group to form the nation’s fourth-largest homebuilding operation.

Fitch Ratings analysts said in a July 24 webinar that the U.S. housing economy has moved from stagnation into contraction at mid-2026, citing weak new-home sales, elevated mortgage rates and a mortgage lock-in effect even as home prices hit record highs.

Santa Cruz County topped NLIHC’s Out of Reach 2026 report for a fourth straight year, requiring an $81.04 hourly wage to afford a $4,214/month two-bedroom rental.

New home sales rose 1.6% in June to a 628,000 annual rate, Census and HUD data show, but the gain isn’t statistically significant and median prices fell 3.3% from May.