A new Urban Institute report finds that nearly 22% of middle-income renters missed a full, on-time rent payment at least once in 2025, up from about 14% in 2024. Middle-income was defined as $31,300-$62,600 for single renters and $53,300-$106,600 for a family of three, income levels that should theoretically cover the average U.S. rent of $1,771. The report notes middle-income households saw the sharpest increase in rent-related financial hardship of any income group.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-09-24
Investment in AI data centers has surpassed the combined historical spending on canals, railroads and the electrical grid, according to reporting on the current buildout. The surge is generating jobs and lifting stock valuations tied to AI infrastructure, even as it strains construction resources and materials markets.
wsj.com
· 2026-09-24
ResiClub's latest analysis finds 54 major housing markets across the U.S. still showing year-over-year home price drops, though that count has fallen from a year earlier. The report questions whether a recent rise in mortgage rates could halt or reverse this cooling trend.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-21
An Entrepreneur contributor who spent two decades building software for landlords and property managers argues that success in complex, regulated industries depends less on flashy innovation and more on adaptability and customer understanding. Drawing on lessons from the fragmented, heavily regulated housing sector, the author outlines principles they say apply broadly to entrepreneurs across SaaS, consumer brands and professional services.
entrepreneur.com
· 2026-09-17
Realtor.com evaluated the 100 largest U.S. metro areas based on affordability and rates of new home construction, then ranked the ten best markets for buyers. The report highlights cities where local policy choices have helped keep housing costs in check despite broader market pressures.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-16
Homebuilders facing a shortage of roughly 1.2 million homes and hundreds of thousands of unfilled construction jobs are turning to robotics, but the real progress is coming from targeted tools like error-checking systems, trade-coordination software, and factory-built modules rather than humanoid robots on job sites. NAHB data shows residential construction productivity has grown just 16% since 1993, far behind the broader economy's 50%-plus gains, while labor shortages cost builders about $11 billion annually and add two months to build times.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-12
A new study by researcher Chris Schmitz tracks 84 cases across 11 jurisdictions showing sharp increases in filings to public services since ChatGPT's launch. UK housing ombudsman complaints more than doubled from 2,600 in 2022 to over 7,000 last year, the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau saw complaints grow fivefold, and similar spikes occurred in Brazilian court petitions and German parliamentary submissions. Schmitz's paper, to be presented at the AI Ethics and Society conference, links the rise to AI tools making it easier to draft forms and complaints, though it stops short of proving direct causation.
techcrunch.com
· 2026-09-10
Luxury housing prices have declined for 29 consecutive months across every high-end price tier, according to new market data. Despite the extended price slide, luxury homes are now selling faster than they did a year ago, suggesting buyer demand remains resilient even as sellers accept lower prices.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-10
ResiClub reports that 18 states have surpassed their 2019 pre-pandemic active housing inventory levels, marking a milestone in the market's recovery from pandemic-era shortages. Nationally, total housing inventory rose 3.8% year-over-year between August 31, 2025 and August 31, 2026.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-10
A new ranking of college towns identifies five markets where median asking home prices remain below $120,000, far under the roughly $400,000 national median. Most of these affordable areas are located in regions with harsh winters or extreme summer heat, which appears to keep demand—and prices—lower.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-09-09
ResiClub's latest analysis finds that while pockets of Florida's housing market remain soft, the broader downturn and price recalibration that began earlier has been steadily easing throughout 2026. Eight charts in the report track this moderation across different metro areas and market indicators.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-31
Homebuilders in several booming Southern housing markets have ramped up construction so aggressively that newly built homes are now priced at or below comparable existing homes. This reverses the usual pattern where new construction commands a premium over older housing stock.
fastcompany.com
· 2026-08-31
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