Confronting heavier incentives, price cuts, tepid demand and margin pressure, PulteGroup opened the year with a mix-shift pivot that leans more heavily on build-to-order and active adult sales. Pulte’s Q1 2026 earnings call, held on Thursday, indicates that the nation’s third-largest homebuilder by sales volume made progress on this goal, despite an added layer of economic uncertainty sprinkled into...

The fight over Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s sweeping housing reform agenda is intensifying as both sides harden their positions. Supporters and detractors by the thousands delivered their opening arguments Thursday at the first major hearing on Pritzker’s six-bill package. Pritzker’s BUILD plan seeks to lower costs by making construction easier and faster statewide. It would override local...

Proprietary reverse mortgages have gained a lot of traction over the past year and now account for more industry volume than federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs). With the help of loan officers Nathan Guerrero and Jackson Matheson, Tennessee will soon join the list of states to allow private-label reverse mortgages. Guerrero, a reverse mortgage specialist and president of Mortgage...

The share of first-time homebuyers has fallen to 21% of all transactions — the lowest level since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) began tracking the data in 1981. For real estate agents, the shift is not a temporary blip. It’s a structural change reshaping how agents build their businesses, talk about value and prepare for a future in which the traditional pipeline of new homebuyers has...

The mid-spring earnings cycle has produced a common-language reality check for America’s public homebuilders: the operating backdrop worsened faster than many management teams expected. In such a context of nearly-universal challenge, doing less-worse may count as a win. Meritage Homes’ Q1 2026 numbers serve as a case in point Orders fell 5% year over year, closings declined 13%, home closing...

This Trending Now story features the most-saved laundry room photos uploaded to Houzz between Dec. 15, 2025, and March 15, 2026.This countdown of the top new laundry rooms uploaded to Houzz so far in 2026 highlights how thoughtful design can elevate one of the...

Spa-style bathrooms have become hugely popular, with many of us eager to create a nurturing haven in our homes. If you want to elevate your bathroom beyond the purely functional, check out these eight ideas for making it feel cozy, tranquil and...

U.S. homebuilder sentiment declined in April 2026 to its lowest level since September 2025, as elevated interest rates, rising construction costs and broader economic uncertainty weighed on demand at the start of the spring selling season. Confidence among builders of newly constructed single-family homes fell four points to 34, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing...

Image Garrett Rosenblum says strong collaboration is essential to avoid siloed decisions that can create unintended...

U.S. homebuilder sentiment declined in April 2026 to its lowest level since September 2025, as elevated interest rates, rising construction costs and broader economic uncertainty weighed on demand at the start of the spring selling season. Confidence among builders of newly constructed single-family homes fell four points to 34, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing...