The Housing Economy with Fexingo: Home Prices, Mortgage Rates, and Real Estate Markets

Episode 107 of The Housing Economy with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna dive into the latest trend in new home construction: smart water heaters with heat-pump technology and grid-interactive controls. With housing starts at 1.177 million annualized in May 2026 and homebuilder stocks like PHM and KBH down 5-6% over the past week, builders are looking for differentiation. We break down how Rheem's new Wi-F...

Episode 106 of The Housing Economy explores a quiet revolution in new-home construction: solar roofs as standard equipment. Lucas and Luna unpack why major builders like DR Horton and Lennar are bundling solar panels into the base price, not as an upgrade. They drill into the numbers—how a $15,000 solar system can save homeowners $2,400 a year on electricity, and why the 30% federal tax credit plu...

Episode 105 of The Housing Economy with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna explore the latest trend in new home construction: built-in home energy management systems. With mortgage rates hovering near 6.5 percent and home prices down slightly from last year, builders are looking for features that cut monthly costs. They examine how systems like Span. IO and Schneider Electric's Square D Energy Center let hom...

In Episode 104 of The Housing Economy, Lucas and Luna explore an unexpected trend in new home construction: the return of the utility sink. Once a staple in mid-century basements, the utility sink has been reborn as a sought-after feature in mud rooms, laundry rooms, and garages. Lucas explains that builders are responding to buyer demand for functional spaces that can handle everything from muddy...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a new trend in new home construction: dedicated zoned climate storage rooms. As homebuyers increasingly demand space for wine collections, refrigerated goods, and temperature-sensitive gear, builders like D.R. Horton and Lennar are adding conditioned storage as a standard feature in 2026. Lucas breaks down the economics: the average cost to add a 40-square-f...

In this episode of The Housing Economy, Lucas and Luna explore a surprising new trend in new home construction: dedicated podcast rooms. With the rise of remote work and content creation, builders are adding soundproof home office podcast studios as standard features in some communities. Lucas shares data showing that nearly 12% of new single-family homes in the Sun Belt now include pre-wired podc...

Episode 101 of The Housing Economy with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna break down why major homebuilders are replacing traditional reach-in closets with floor-to-ceiling built-in storage walls in new construction. With median home sale prices down to $403,200 and housing starts at 1,177,000, builders are looking for cost-effective ways to add perceived square footage. Lucas cites data from Lennar and Pul...

In this milestone 100th episode of The Housing Economy, Lucas and Luna explore why homebuilders are shrinking lot sizes—and what that means for affordability, community design, and builder profit margins. With the median home sale price down to $403,200, housing starts at 1.177 million (a 2026 low), and homebuilder stocks like Toll Brothers down 8% in the past week, the hosts examine the math behi...

In this episode of The Housing Economy, Lucas and Luna dig into a quiet but powerful shift in new-home pricing: zipcode-based dynamic pricing. As housing starts hit 1.177 million in May 2026 — the lowest in years — and the Case-Shiller index slips to 330.9, builders like D.R. Horton and Lennar are moving away from one-size-fits-all base prices. Instead, they're using algorithms to adjust prices st...

Episode 98 of The Housing Economy explores why homebuilders are increasingly offering smart home pre-wiring as a standard feature. Lucas and Luna discuss how builders like Lennar and PulteGroup are adapting to buyer demand for integrated home automation, from lighting and thermostats to security systems. They examine the cost benefits for builders—pre-wiring during construction costs a fraction of...

Homebuilder stocks have taken a sharp hit over the past week, with the S&P Homebuilders ETF down 3.6% and major builders like D.R. Horton and Lennar falling 4-5%. Meanwhile, housing starts dropped to just 1.177 million in May, the lowest reading since early 2024. On this episode of The Housing Economy, Lucas and Luna dive into the disconnect: why are builders scaling back when mortgage rates have...

In this episode of The Housing Economy, Lucas and Luna explore why homebuilders are increasingly offering safe rooms or security suites in new construction. With the spike in home invasions and natural disasters, builders like D.R. Horton and Lennar are making fortified rooms a standard option in new developments. We break down the costs, the features, and whether this trend is here to stay. Plus,...

Episode 95 of The Housing Economy explores why homebuilders across the Sun Belt and beyond are installing built-in firepits as a standard feature, not an upgrade. Lucas and Luna dig into the data: with mortgage rates hovering near 6.4% and home prices cooling, builders are using outdoor living spaces to differentiate. They cite a recent NAHB survey showing 58% of new homes under $500,000 now inclu...

In this episode of The Housing Economy, Lucas and Luna explore the growing trend of homebuilders installing smart locks as standard equipment in new construction. With the median home sale price down to $403,200 and housing starts slipping to 1.177 million annualized units in May 2026, builders are looking for low-cost differentiators that add perceived value. Smart locks, costing builders roughly...

Lucas and Luna explore a growing trend in new construction: dedicated pet rooms. From built-in feeding stations with plumbing to tiled wash stations and climate-controlled sleeping nooks, builders are adding spaces designed specifically for dogs and cats. The hosts discuss why this amenity is becoming standard in move-up homes, citing builder surveys showing 68 percent of buyers under 40 consider...

Episode 92 of The Housing Economy with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna discuss the surprising rise of curbless, zero-threshold showers in new U.S. homes. With housing starts down to 1.177 million units and the median home sale price falling to $403,200 from $412,300, builders are competing on aging-in-place features. Lucas cites data from the National Association of Home Builders showing that zero-thresho...

Episode 91 of The Housing Economy with Fexingo looks at how homebuilders are increasingly installing electric vehicle charging infrastructure as a standard feature in new construction. Lucas and Luna discuss the shift from optional upgrade to baseline expectation, driven by rising EV adoption and changing buyer priorities. They reference the latest housing starts data (down to 1.177 million in May...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a quiet shift in new-home construction: developers are increasingly including community gardens as standard amenities. With housing starts down to 1.177 million in May 2026 from 1.392 million a year earlier, builders are competing harder on lifestyle perks that don't add much square footage. The hosts cite a Lennar pilot in Phoenix where 12 percent of buyers...

In this episode of The Housing Economy, Lucas and Luna explore why major homebuilders are increasingly adding detached backyard casitas — also known as accessory dwelling units or ADUs — to new construction homes. With housing starts down to 1.177 million in May 2026 and the median home sale price hovering at $403,200, builders are using casitas as a way to offer buyers a potential rental income s...

Episode 88 of The Housing Economy explores a new trend in new home construction: dedicated fitness rooms. Lucas and Luna discuss why builders like D.R. Horton and Lennar are increasingly including built-in gym spaces — not just spare rooms with mirrors, but rooms with rubber flooring, ventilation for high-intensity equipment, and structural reinforcement for wall-mounted systems. They tie this to...

Episode 87 of The Housing Economy: Lucas and Luna dive into the latest homebuilding trend—dedicated mud rooms. With housing starts down sharply to 1.177 million in May 2026 and builders struggling to differentiate, separating the entry space has become a new competitive edge. They examine floor plan data from major builders like D.R. Horton and Lennar, discuss why the shift matters for resale valu...

Episode 86 of The Housing Economy explores a fast-growing trend in new home construction: dedicated multi-generational suites. With the median home sale price at $403,200 and 30-year mortgage rates hovering around 6.49 percent, builders are designing separate living quarters within single-family homes to accommodate aging parents, adult children, or extended family. Lucas and Luna dive into the ec...

Episode 85 of The Housing Economy explores a new trend in new-home construction: dedicated bike storage rooms. Lucas and Luna discuss why builders are adding these spaces, from DR Horton to Toll Brothers, and how it ties to shifting buyer priorities. With housing starts down to 1.177 million in May 2026 and the median home price at $403,200, builders are differentiating with amenities that appeal...

In this episode of The Housing Economy, Lucas and Luna look at why homebuilders are increasingly including fully wired outdoor kitchens as standard in new construction. With the median home sale price at $403,200 and housing starts down to 1.177 million, builders are competing on lifestyle amenities rather than price. The hosts discuss how brands like D.R. Horton and Lennar are adding built-in gri...

Episode 83 of The Housing Economy dives into a quiet shift in new-home construction: the rise of ad-hoc storage spaces like oversized closets, built-in shelving, and garage storage systems. Lucas and Luna discuss how homebuilders are responding to buyer demand for more storage without sacrificing square footage, using data from recent housing starts and building permits. They explore a specific ca...