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:
How Long Does It Take to Get a Reverse Mortgage in 2026?
The article outlines the typical 30‑to‑60‑day timeline for obtaining a reverse mortgage in 2026, detailing the five required steps from HUD‑approved counseling through closing. It highlights that well‑prepared borrowers can close in as little as 30 days, while common setbacks such as appraisal delays, property repairs, and missing paperwork can extend the process. A mandatory three‑business‑day rescission period follows closing before funds are released. The piece also compares reverse mortgage timelines to other home‑equity products, emphasizing the lack of monthly payments for seniors.
LightBox CRE Activity Index Rebounds in January
The LightBox CRE Activity Index surged 28% in January, reaching 110.7 – the first triple‑digit reading since October and well above the 88.2 recorded in January 2025. The rebound was powered by an 81% month‑over‑month jump in commercial listings, a...
Housing Affordability Eclipses Crime as Chicago Residents’ No. 1 Concern
A January poll of 648 Chicago voters found 41% now cite housing affordability as their top concern, overtaking crime, which drew only 23% support. Respondents highlighted soaring home prices—median listings at $344,000, up 9.2% since 2022—and rising property taxes, with...
Lenders' Rent-Stabilized Disappearing Act, By The Numbers
Flagstar Bank, formerly New York Community Bancorp, slashed its rent‑stabilized loan originations from nearly $3.9 billion annually to just $58 million last year, mirroring a broader market contraction. Overall NYC rent‑stabilized financing fell from $27.6 billion in 2019 to under $11.3 billion in 2024,...
Midwest Heat, Sunbelt Chill as 2026 Home Prices Barely Budge
The Cotality Home Price Index reported U.S. single‑family home prices rising only 0.74% year‑over‑year in January 2026, a sharp slowdown from the 3.43% pace seen early 2025. While the Midwest posted a 3.56% annual gain and the Northeast saw pockets of...
Former Fiesta Mall Site Adding Two Hotels
Sunny Day Sports announced a mixed‑use development on the former Fiesta Mall site in Mesa, dubbed the Palo District. The plan includes two hotels totaling about 600 rooms—a 400‑room flagship that would become the largest hotel in Mesa and a...
Chronic HPD Staff Shortage Could Hamstring Mamdani's Housing Goals
New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) is grappling with a chronic staffing shortage, leaving only two lawyers to approve pre‑construction plans and temporary certificates of occupancy for key affordability programs. Vacancies now affect roughly 14% of...
Corporate Investors Sell, Mortgage Beats Rent, Prices Rise
I'm seeing more and investors selling houses as I travel across the U.S. Housing Market. This one is located south of Atlanta. Corporate investor bought it for $226k in 2021. Tried renting it around $2,000 in 2022. And is now selling at $255k...
HECM Lenders See Subdued Numbers to Start the Year
Government‑backed Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements dropped 20.7% from January to February, reaching 1,821 transactions, and are down 26.6% year‑over‑year. The slowdown coincides with the rise of proprietary reverse‑mortgage products that offer higher limits and no mortgage‑insurance requirement, drawing...
‘Playmakers’: The ‘Curse’ that Spurred LPT’s Rapid Growth
LPT Realty, founded by Robert Palmer, has surged from its August 2022 launch to a hyper‑scaled platform, signing 1,000 agents in the first 24 hours and acquiring three large franchise teams. Palmer predicts the industry will shift toward single‑entity national brokerages, positioning...
Partners Lands Houston Highrise Leasing Assignment
Partners Real Estate has been named the exclusive leasing agent for 1000 Main, a 36‑story, 837,161‑square‑foot office tower in downtown Houston. The building is poised to reach 74 % occupancy, anchored by tenants such as Shell, Porter Hedges and UBS, while retail outlets...
‘Shed Specialist’ Winvic Is Getting Into Data Centres: We Asked How
Winvic Construction, known for industrial sheds, is expanding into data centre construction as its fourth core sector. Over the past 18 months the firm has mapped client demand, retooled its supply chain, and secured MEP partners to meet the technical...
New Manhattan High-Rise Looks to Pioneer Robotics-Enabled Construction
Westvue Manhattan, a 24‑story residential tower at 9th Avenue and 37th Street, is positioning itself as a technology showcase by deploying the Skyeforge Alliance—a consortium of more than a dozen robotics specialists working alongside traditional contractors. The project leverages AI‑driven...
Opendoor Says It Will Offer 4.99% Mortgage Rates to Its Home Buyer Customers
Opendoor announced a beta mortgage product that will provide a 30‑year fixed rate of 4.99% with no points or fees, roughly a full percentage point below the current 6% market average. The discount is achieved through reduced margins, automation, and...
GTIS to Develop New Headquarters for Santander Brasil
Santander Brasil announced it will relocate its corporate headquarters to Campus JK, a new office development being built by U.S.-based GTIS Partners. The 101,000‑square‑metre campus, occupying an entire city block on Avenida Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek, is slated for completion in...
Phoenix Continues Industrial Market Dominance
Greater Phoenix solidified its position as a leading U.S. industrial market in 2025, according to Colliers. Vacancy slipped 10 basis points to 9.7% in Q4, while net absorption reached 3.2 million square feet, totaling 18.2 million for the year – the strongest...
Property Line Showdown: Homeowner Faces Off Against Neighbor in Wild ‘Squatters’ Rights Battle—Over a Fence
A homeowner discovered a neighbor’s fence extending two feet onto his land and demanded its removal. The neighbor invoked “squatters’ rights,” claiming adverse possession after five years of encroachment. Real‑estate attorneys clarified that adverse possession requires longer, continuous occupancy and...
Macquarie Partners with KINX & Gabia for South Korean Data Center Build-Out
Macquarie Asset Management’s Asia‑Pacific Infrastructure Fund 4 has teamed with South Korean IT firm Gabia and its network subsidiary KINX to launch a $420 million hyperscale data‑center venture. The joint‑venture will initially build a 40 MW facility in Ansan, Seoul, and aims to...
Grotto AI Raises $10M to Help Leasing Agents Close More Deals with Real-Time AI Coaching
Grotto AI announced a $10 million seed round led by ICONIQ and Asymmetric, bringing its total funding to $14 million. The startup offers real‑time AI coaching that listens to leasing calls and tours, surfacing high‑impact behaviors such as humor and genuine curiosity...
Saving Cash to Purchase Real Estate Pays Off
But nothing wrong with stacking cash to buy assets. 🏆 Follow @chasecalhoun.realestate for more on build-to-rent and real estate investing. #realestate #investmentproperty #buildtorent
Hotel Sector ‘Bounced Back Following Challenging Start to 2025’
The UK hotel sector rebounded strongly in the second half of 2025 after a difficult first half marked by rising costs and softer ADRs. RevPAR across London and regional markets finished roughly level with 2024, while occupancy in regional hotels...
Google Files for Fifth Data Center at Midlothian Campus in Texas
Google, via shell company Sharka LLC, filed to build a fifth data center on its Midlothian, Texas campus. The $880 million project will span 288,000 sq ft and is slated for completion by February 24, 2027. This addition follows a $100 million fourth building announced in...
Snowflake Snags 83K Sf at BXP’s 7 Times Square
Snowflake has signed an 83,000‑square‑foot lease at BXP’s 7 Times Square, adding a new headquarters in Manhattan’s iconic office tower. The lease terms and rent were not disclosed, though the fourth‑quarter average asking rent in Times Square was $76.42 per...
Don't Default to Lower L
When your DSCR doesn't hit the bank’s threshold (usually a ~1.25x DSCR), most people think banks don't give you any option but to lower the LTV But in reality, if you negotiate, you have 3 options: Option 1: Lower LTV Option 2: Schedule...
Ballymore and Penta Get Go-Ahead for 373-Home Phase of Brentford Scheme
Urban regeneration specialist Ballymore, partnered with Penta Real Estate, has secured planning permission for the second phase of its £300 m Brentford redevelopment, adding 373 new homes across nearly 12 acres. The mixed‑use scheme will extend the town’s high street onto...
The Boomer Upsize
Baby Boomer retirees are increasingly outbidding families for large homes in prime suburban districts with top schools. Recent examples from Biloxi, Mississippi and St. Charles County, Missouri show seniors relocating to be near adult children and grandchildren, driving rapid sales...
Realtors Overprice Listings by $250K, Misleading Buyers
The Trickery Never Ends In Real Estate Sales: Let's List The House The House For $250K Less Than We Will Take For the last 20 years Residential Real Estate has used some of the worst Sales Tactics Not every Realtor does this...
Hanley Investment Group Arranges $3 Million Pre-Sale of Single-Tenant Retail Property in San Bernardino, California
Hanley Investment Group arranged a $3 million pre‑sale of a newly built single‑tenant retail property in San Bernardino, California, to be occupied by a 7‑Eleven commercial fueling lanes (CFL) prototype on a 15‑year triple‑net ground lease. The site combines high‑speed diesel...
Simon Property Group Signs Leases with Four New Tenants at Wrentham Village Premium Outlets in Massachusetts
Simon Property Group has secured leases with four new tenants—Big Chicken, Gong Cha, Fabletics and Gymboree—at its 616,000‑square‑foot Wrentham Village Premium Outlets near Boston. Big Chicken is already operating, while Gong Cha will open in late spring and both Fabletics...
Cell Tower Valuation Model (Updated March 2026)
The article introduces a new Excel‑based Cell Tower Valuation Model designed for telecom infrastructure underwriting. It highlights how 5G rollouts, rising data usage, and new operators are turning cell towers into high‑demand, inflation‑protected CRE assets. Valuations are driven by cash‑flow...
Location Beats Building Condition: Vision Can't Fix Bad Sites
Doesn’t matter how ugly, run-down or obsolete a building is: If the post-rehab rent or sale price is sufficiently high to justify the expense, you can figure out how to fix it, w enough vision & capital. On the other...
Video | Home Built in 10 Days Using ‘Factory-in-a-Box’ System
University of Sheffield researchers, together with Seismic Group, have showcased a ‘factory‑in‑a‑box’ modular system that can construct a complete home in just ten days. The approach deploys a rapidly assembled, weather‑shielded manufacturing unit directly on the building site, eliminating traditional...
Multifamily Absorption Rate Remains Below 50%
The Census Bureau’s SOMA report shows the three‑month absorption rate for new apartments stayed below 50% for the fourth consecutive quarter, slipping to 47% in Q2 2026. Despite modest growth in completions—over 90,000 units for the seventh straight quarter—median asking...
U.S. Government Targets Dirty Money in Housing for the First Time
The U.S. Treasury’s FinCEN has launched the Residential Real Estate (RRE) Rule, mandating reporting of all‑cash residential property transfers to entities or trusts starting March 1, 2026. The rule closes a long‑standing AML loophole that let shell‑company purchases evade scrutiny, requiring title...
Submarket Spotlight: Denver, Brighton & Northern Colorado Industrial Market
Colorado’s industrial warehouse market is fragmented into distinct submarkets, each driven by functional priorities rather than aggregate metro metrics. In Denver’s infill and core corridors, limited land and high labor proximity sustain strong demand for small‑bay, last‑mile spaces, while Commerce...
The Typical U.S. Homeowner Hangs Onto Their House For 12 Years. In Los Angeles, It’s 20 Years.
Redfin’s 2025 analysis shows the median U.S. homeowner now stays in a home for 12 years, the longest tenure since 2022. Tenure peaked at 13.4 years in 2020, fell during the pandemic‑driven buying surge, and rebounded slightly in 2025. California...
Yesterday’s Pricing Event Predicts Today’s Market Move
Today's podcast discusses yesterday's market pricing event, and today's market action isn't surprising to me. I encourage people to listen to this for a better understanding. @housingwire @sarahteresa6 #mortgagerates #realestate #housing #mortgagerates #chartdaddy
Zuckerberg Spends $170M on Miami Island Bunker
#Zuckerbergs finally come clean abt '#billionaire bunker' they paid $170M for in #IndianCreek on exclusive island near #MiamiDade, w/neighbors #TomBrady+#CarlIcahn. Sellers are cosmetic surgeon #Rollins+his wife, a #realestate agent. https://t.co/XiDLXgs3lQ via @WSJ
Langham Estate Set to Unveil 50 Eastcastle Street Refurbishment
Langham Estate announced a £50 million refurbishment of 50 Eastcastle Street, converting the historic Fitzrovia building into 46,000 sq ft of furnished workspace. The project, part of a broader upgrade programme for the estate’s West End portfolio, retains the former Princess’s Theatre façade while...
Credit Unions Deliver the Worst CRE Underwriting in Market
The worst commercial real estate underwriting in our market isn’t private credit (and that’s pretty bad)…it’s credit unions.
New Construction Opportunities for Mom‑Pop Investors – Join Webinar
Should mom-and-pop single-family investors consider new construction? On Thursday at 3 pm ET (noon PT), I'm hosting a webinar with the team behind the Lennar Investor Marketplace. To join the March 5th webinar, use this link to register: https://t.co/HOSCTKZc96
Senate Advances Housing Bill With Temporary CBDC Ban
The U.S. Senate advanced the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act with an 84‑to‑6 vote. The 303‑page legislation includes a provision that prohibits the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC) until Dec. 31, 2030. The bill carves...
Net Flow, Not Just Buying, Reveals Housing Fire Sales
This is why reporters and policymakers should look at net flows (buying - selling), not just buying.
Spring Housing Market Gains Momentum in 2026
The spring housing market is waking up. We’ve been feeling that since January, but it’s starting to show up a bit more in the stats now that we have two months under our belt in 2026. Pending contracts have been...
75,000 “Relistings” Could Hit the Market, But Inventory WON’T Explode?
Housing market analysts note that roughly 75,000 single‑family homes are being relisted, representing about 11% of active inventory. De‑listings surged to 60‑80% of new listings during the holiday season, reflecting sellers pulling overpriced homes. Most relistings stem from owner‑occupiers waiting...
Upzoning Alone Won’t Spark Building without Lower Costs
“Nobody is starting construction until the costs come down.” Exactly Upzoning is **necessary** but not **sufficient** to solve the housing crisis
Japanese Homebuilders Target U.S. Market for Affordable Housing
This is one to watch, especially on the #affordability play. Japanese #homebuilders go on a U.S. shopping spree https://t.co/mx1I1mmMB6 #realestate #realestateinvesting #housing #economy
Inditex Triples Down at Metrocentre with Bershka Signing
Inditex has signed Bershka for a 16,000 sq ft store in Metrocentre’s Red Mall, bringing its total footprint in the North‑East retail hub to over 65,000 sq ft alongside Zara and Stradivarius. The addition bolsters Metrocentre’s fashion offering as category sales rose 7.4% in...
Sunnyside Yard Redevelopment Aims to House 12k Families
At 192 acres, #SunnysideYard w/the largest coach yard in the world w/it opened in 1910+w/#MayorMamdani wants to put 12K families. +He wants #Trump to ok #21B in fed $$ for it. 'In a city w/land is so precious, here lies...
1540 Broadway Hits 50% Occupancy, Targets 80% by Q2
#1540Broadway, fka the #Bertelsmann bldg, reaches 50% as #Pandora 2xs its space+#Korean bank signs for 18.5KSF. 'We expect to be well on toward 80% by the end of Q2' #GFP #MSD #MichaelDell #realestate #CRE #WooriBank #Newmark https://t.co/jMCtLaQVv3