Today's Real Estate Pulse
Berkshire Hathaway to Acquire U.S. Homebuilder in $6.8B Deal
Berkshire Hathaway, now led by CEO Greg Abel, announced a $6.8 billion acquisition of a U.S. homebuilder, marking the conglomerate’s first major entry into residential construction. The purchase is intended to add stable, long‑term cash flow from the housing sector to Berkshire’s portfolio.
Also developing:
Koreins Call Out More Brokers in Vornado Feud
The Korein family, owners of the land beneath 1 Penn Plaza, filed a lawsuit accusing several top Manhattan brokers of refusing to represent them against Vornado Realty Trust due to fear of losing Vornado's lucrative business. They allege brokers such as Doug Harmon, Michael Cohen, Woody Heller, Vin Carrega and Sarah Pontius declined involvement in the appraisal proceeding. The suit seeks judicial acceptance of a $1.9 billion valuation for the 2.5‑million‑square‑foot skyscraper, arguing the appraisal panel was biased toward Vornado. The accusations expose how Vornado’s market dominance may shape broker behavior and appraisal outcomes.
Borrower Hesitation in High-Cost Regions
Borrower hesitation in high‑cost metros is increasingly driven by soaring insurance premiums, rising property‑tax and HOA costs, and the complexity of covering high‑value personal assets. Lenders report longer decision cycles, higher pre‑qualification fallout, and more renegotiations as total cost‑of‑ownership calculations...
Armed With $1B In New Credit, JLL Income Property Trust Ready To Deal
JLL Income Property Trust secured a $1 billion credit facility comprising a $600 million revolving line and a $400 million term loan, with the option to expand to $1.3 billion. The two‑year facility, syndicated by ten major banks, provides unsecured liquidity for opportunistic acquisitions....
Per‑unit Housing Costs Mislead without Unit Mix Context
This is an example of why I dislike "per unit" metrics in housing discourse & policy $827K/per unit sounds really really bad ... and it's not GOOD BUT ... when you take unit mix, and size, into account it gets a little...
Apollo To Invest $1B In 500 Realty Income Single-Tenant Properties
Apollo Global Management is investing $1 billion for a 49% stake in a new joint venture with Realty Income Corp. to acquire roughly 500 single‑tenant retail properties under long‑term net leases. Realty Income will continue to manage the portfolio, with the...
What Brokers Need to Know About President Trump's Housing Executive Order
President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at addressing housing affordability, directing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to conduct studies and draft new rules. The order highlights support for community and small banks and signals possible regulatory changes that...
Mortgage Executive Sees Pent‑up Demand as Buyers Wait for the Right Moment to Strike
Mortgage applications have slumped as rates climbed from the high‑5s to the mid‑6% range, leaving buyers on the sidelines. Flyhomes CEO Tushar Garg argues that this pause masks significant pent‑up demand that could ignite once rates retreat. Federal Reserve officials...
Home Flippers Face Great Recession‑era Returns as Costs Catch Up
Home flippers ended 2025 with sharply reduced returns as acquisition costs and high resale prices pushed gross ROI to 25.5%, the weakest level since the 2008 crisis. The sector’s share of total home sales fell to 7.4%, the lowest volume...
Developer Effectively Withdraws Application for Data Center in Fayetteville, Georgia
Crow Holdings Development and CHI/Acquisitions withdrew their application to build a 300,000‑sq ft data center on a 37.4‑acre site in Fayetteville, Georgia, after the planning and zoning commission rejected the proposal. The parcel, already zoned for data‑center use, would have featured...
Hawke’s Bay’s Cheapest and Most Expensive House Sales for 2025: From a $5.15m Apartment to $57k Cottage
Hawke’s Bay recorded a striking price spread in 2025, with a 1910 cottage in Frasertown selling for just $56,650 and a luxury waterfront apartment in Ahuriri fetching $5.15 million. The low‑end sale reflects the modest demand and condition‑driven pricing common in...
Former Newspaper Building in Kansas City Eyed for 20-Story Data Center Development
Revitalization Unlimited, a Miami‑based historic‑preservation fund, plans to replace the 1900‑era Western Newspaper Union building in Kansas City with a 20‑story, 30 MW data center. The 142,085 sq ft tower would feature natural‑gas fuel cells and ground‑floor retail, demolishing the existing 29,990 sq ft structure....
CBRE Strengthens Development Advisory and Residential Land Team
CBRE has bolstered its development advisory and residential land capabilities in Bristol and the South West by appointing senior director Nic Rumble from JLL and development finance expert Martha Freer. The expanded team now includes five specialists offering end‑to‑end services to...
Miami Developer Offering FIFA World Cup Tickets For Condo Buyers
North Development is using FIFA World Cup tickets as a sales incentive for its Domus Brickell Park condos in Miami. Since the promotion began four months ago, roughly 20 of the 45 remaining units have been sold, driven largely by...
BrightSpire Sells LIC Office Building to Pearl Realty at $36M Discount
BrightSpire Capital sold the seven‑story Paragon Building in Long Island City for $28 million, a $36.3 million discount from its 2023 purchase price of $64.3 million. The sale represents a roughly 56 percent loss, reflecting broader devaluation in New York’s office market. Pearl Realty...
Historic Heights Redevelopment Reaches 80% Preleased: The Houston Deal Sheet
Radom Capital and Triten Real Estate Partners’ Swift Building in Houston Heights has reached 80% pre‑lease, offering 35,000 sq ft of office and 25,000 sq ft of retail space. Anchor tenants include Van Leeuwen Ice Cream (1,300 sq ft) and wellness brand Leemoo, marking the fourth and...
11 Arrested in $6 Million Elderly Homeowner Fraud Scheme in Los Angeles
Federal prosecutors have arrested 11 individuals, including two foreign nationals, for a $6 million fraud that stole the identities of senior homeowners in Los Angeles and used the data to obtain bogus hard‑money loans. The scheme, which targeted properties in Hollywood, Santa...
Lawmaker Seeks To Block School-To-Housing Conversions In West Philly
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier introduced legislation to block the conversion of five West Philadelphia public schools into housing, directing the properties toward civic uses such as schools or libraries. The mayor, Cherelle Parker, is pushing school‑to‑housing projects to help meet her...
Investor Makes D.C. Debut With All-Cash NoMa Buy: The D.C. Deal Sheet
Philadelphia‑based Turio Residential Co. announced its first Washington, D.C. acquisition, buying the 67‑unit former extended‑stay hotel at 1324 North Capitol St. NW for $16 million in cash. The asset, previously slated for foreclosure, will be rebranded as NoMa 1324 and converted to...
Mortgage Rates Jump Above 6.5%, More Hikes Ahead
A 6.50%+ 30-year fixed mortgage rate is coming today. Crazy we had sub-6% rates less than a month ago. It's going to get worse before it gets better.
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Chick-Fil-A Is Opening a Distribution Center in Texas
Chick‑fil‑A will break ground on a $50 million distribution and warehouse facility in Lubbock, Texas, slated for May. The site, positioned near Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport, will store and ship food and related products to the chain’s restaurants across the region....
Outsmart Competitors, Navigate Ahead in Real Estate
Get around people who are 2-3 steps ahead of you. Follow @chasecalhoun.realestate for more on build-to-rent and real estate investing. #realestate #investmentproperty #buildtorent
Why Rate Direction Doesn't Matter
The article challenges the common focus on interest‑rate direction, arguing that the cause behind rate moves matters far more for real‑estate investors. From 1981 to 2021, a secular decline in rates compressed cap rates, inflating property values regardless of operational...
The Homeowners Insurance Crisis Is Now a Mortgage Crisis. A Federal Fix Is Being Proposed
Homeowners‑insurance premiums have surged 64% since 2019, pushing average annual costs to $1,950 and exceeding $4,400 in high‑risk states. The spike is inflating borrowers' debt‑to‑income ratios, causing 37% of lenders to lose deals and delaying closings. Brookings economists propose a...
ARMs Offer $150 Monthly Savings, Biggest Discount Since 2022
"The typical homebuyer would save $150 per month taking out an adjustable-rate mortgage instead of a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. That’s a 5.8% discount, the biggest ARM users have had since June 2022 in both dollar and percentage terms." -Redfin
Texas Judge Blocks EPIC City Development with Temporary Restraining Order
Collin County’s 493rd Judicial District issued a temporary restraining order against the Double R Municipal Utility District, halting Community Capital Partners’ EPIC City (now called The Meadow) project. Attorney General Ken Paxton alleges the district’s board illegally expanded its boundaries...
February Home Sales Slowest Since 2016, 66-Day Average
"U.S. homebuyers are taking their time as we head into spring, which is usually the busy season for the housing market. The typical home that went under contract in February spent 66 days on the market. That’s the slowest February...
Medical Offices Have Distinct Demand Drivers From Regular Offices
Medical Office is not OFFICE and comparing the two is just dumb. Totally different demand drivers. https://t.co/tC5q86wvj3
Florida Legislature Passes Bill to Encourage Infill Housing on Brownfields
Florida’s Legislature passed a bill requiring counties with over 1.475 million residents to allow residential development on any parcel of five acres or larger, targeting infill housing on brownfield sites. The measure preempts certain local zoning restrictions on multifamily and mixed‑use...
Redesigning Homes in 5‑10 Years Seems Unrealistic
while I agree with his general thinking about how we’ll rethink home design, seems optimistic to think that a meaningful percentage of homes would be redesigned in a 5-10 yr period
Spring Housing Outlook Crumbles as Rates Surge Above 6%
In less than a month, hope for a decent spring selling season has all but vanished in housing as oil spikes, rates jump, and inflation expectations reset higher. Can’t even get an adjustable-rate mortgage below 6% anymore. https://t.co/YOV544jjTl
3 in 5 Americans Fear AI Could Replace Jobs, Making It Harder to Afford Homes
A Redfin‑commissioned Ipsos survey of 4,000 U.S. adults finds that 59% believe advances in artificial intelligence will eliminate jobs and make home ownership less affordable, while only 30% think AI will boost the economy and housing access. The same respondents...
Spring Housing Surge Meets Rising Mortgage Rates
The spring #housing market is on, but mortgage rates just shot higher. Here's what to know. https://t.co/RH3r7ufpUH @realtordotcom @cotality @mortgagenewsmnd @jonathanmiller #realestate #realestateinvesting @SelmaHepp
Affordable Housing Mirrors Market-Rate; Myths Persist About Section 8.
Most people would never be able to tell the difference between a Class A market-rate apartment project and a modern affordable housing development. Yet affordable developers still confront myths all the time that they're building Section 8 "projects." https://t.co/2C59S50Hql
The Smart Landlord’s Secret to Happier Tenants
Spring is the ideal time for landlords to shift from reactive fire‑fighting to proactive maintenance, inspecting roofs, HVAC, plumbing and seals before summer demand. Centralizing repair requests through property‑management platforms turns scattered calls into organized, real‑time workflows, cutting admin time...
Most Major Metro Home Prices Cooling; New Orleans Defies Trend
47 of the nation's 50 largest metro area housing markets have a weaker year-over-year home price shift this early spring than a year ago The biggest exception is New Orleans—which is firming up after passing through a 'material' correction Analysis via @ResidentialClub...
Rising Transport and Petroleum Costs Squeeze Homebuilder Margins
Falling construction costs were a rare positive for homebuilders in 2025. That’s quickly shifting as transport costs jump, as will build costs since many construction products are petroleum based. Hard for homebuilders to push new cost increases through, so more...
Garry Marr: Why It Could Be the Right Time to Walk Away From Your Real Estate
Canadian homeowners and condo investors are increasingly facing underwater properties as market values retreat. Insolvency filings tied to real estate rose to eight percent of all bankruptcies in 2025, up from five percent a year earlier. Experts warn that while...
Slower Inventory, Strong Demand Thanks to Low Mortgage Spreads
Inventory growth has been much slower this year vs last; the housing demand curve has been positive this year because rates are still lower YoY. If mortgage spreads didn't improve rates would have already been above 7% already https://t.co/J8onCbn0WP
Penalizing Density Rewards Developers, Highlighting Policy Paradox
Engquist: 1 man's penalty is another's reward. How #realestate+pols see the world differently. Biz folks see economics, pols see consequences. 'They've done the exact opposite by penalizing density' #realestate #CRE #multifamily #NYC #485x #unions https://t.co/fYGiKUe7PA
Metrocentre Shopping Centre to Roll Out New Independent Brands Space
Metrocentre, the UK’s second‑largest shopping centre, will transform its "The Forum" area into a new destination called "The Crescent". The revamp will feature up to ten newly refurbished units dedicated to independent brands and a centrally located coffee hub. Designed...
Fifth Ave Condo Conversion Files Chapter 11, Project Paused
Slaughter on #FifthAve. #Vinoly-designed #condo conversion by #TopRock+#RJ at ex-office/#retail bldg at #609Fifth enters #Chapter11 #bankruptcy, avoiding #foreclosure sale. Project on hold. #realestate #NYC #ValleyNational #mezzdebt #mortgage $SLG https://t.co/CWDBhXObE7
Chicago: The Magnificent Mile and Beyond - Where We Buy #374
In this episode, JLL’s Midwest Retail Lead Wally Walfelt discusses Chicago’s retail real‑estate landscape, focusing on the post‑pandemic recovery of the central business district (CBD) and the iconic Magnificent Mile. He highlights that Chicago ranks among the top three U.S....
Mortgage Rates Hit 6.22%, Top Level Since December, Tightening Housing Affordability
U.S. mortgage rates rose to 6.22% for a third straight week, the highest level since December, prompting higher monthly payments and a sharp slowdown in new‑home sales. The increase reflects geopolitical tension in the Middle East and rising Treasury yields,...
Sea Change
Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre is witnessing a transformative shift as newly constructed residential towers begin to replace its sprawling surface parking lot. The first high‑rise redevelopment across the street marks the start of a broader trend toward high‑density, mixed‑use projects...
How The “Quantum City” Is Redefining Office Real Estate Value
The podcast with Chase Garbarino introduces the “Quantum City” framework, which aligns city‑level technology initiatives with measurable economic performance. It argues that office buildings should be treated as ongoing services rather than static lease products, using tenant‑health data to gauge...
$1 Million Apartments in Paris
A one‑bedroom top‑floor unit in the Sainte‑Avoye enclave of Le Marais is listed for $979,000 (€850,000). The 549‑square‑foot apartment commands $1,783 per square foot and sits within a mid‑17th‑century mansion adjacent to Paris’s oldest standing building. It offers high ceilings, original...
Semi-Detached House Extension Ideas – Our Pick of 7 Inspiring Home Additions
Semi-detached homes, with only one shared wall, offer a cost‑effective platform for extensions that can dramatically improve space, daylight and functionality. Homeowners must navigate permitted‑development rights versus full planning permission, especially concerning height, footprint and privacy. The article showcases seven...
Homes for Sale with Uplifting Views in England and Wales – in Pictures
From an isolated stone cottage in Powys to a 42‑storey penthouse in Canary Wharf, the latest listings showcase the UK’s appetite for homes with striking views. Prices range from £235,000 for a Southsea apartment to £2.05 million for a three‑bedroom flat...
Would You Trust It? AI Tool to Assist Landlord Compliance
Rent Fix Legals has launched RentFix.ai, an AI‑driven legal platform designed to help UK landlords comply with the upcoming Renters’ Rights Act. Powered by Anthropic’s Claude model and trained on more than 100,000 UK legal documents, the tool claims 99.7%...
Fine & Country Reveals New Premium Lettings Business
Fine & Country has launched a premium lettings and property management division in Nottingham, extending its decade‑long success in high‑end sales to the rental market. The new arm offers full‑service lettings, targeting landlords, investors and tenants seeking a refined experience....