Zelman Insights

New Home Market Showing Signs of Thawing Out as Spring Approaches

March 06, 2026 by Alan Ratner

After a brutally-cold winter across most of the country, both the weather and the housing market are beginning to show early signs of thawing out as spring approaches. However, there are many crosscurrents to consider as we analyze the new home market backdrop entering the pivotal selling season....

Filed Under
homebuilding

Manufactured Housing Policy: Improving on the Margin

February 23, 2026 by Jesse Lederman

Affordability remains a clear policy priority, but manufactured housing – the most affordable ownership option – has often been underrepresented in the broader debate. Even so, the policy backdrop continues to get incrementally better on two fronts: (1) state-level zoning reform that reduces discriminatory local barriers and (2) imminent federal HUD Code modernization...

Filed Under
Manufactured Housing

Envisioning the future of build-to-rent: Zelman advises on ResiBuilt’s sale to Invitation Homes

February 18, 2026 by Tony McGill

Zelman, a Walker & Dunlop company, served as the exclusive sell-side investment banker to RESICAP on the divestiture of its build-to-rent homebuilding and development platform, ResiBuilt, to Invitation Homes. The transaction represents a defining moment for the build-to-rent (BTR) sector and underscores the continued evolution of institutional investment in purpose-built housing...

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build-for-rent housing

Furniture Demand Faces the Elasticity Test, but Housing Turnover and Home Price Appreciation Hold the Key

February 13, 2026 by Marius Morar

With tariff-driven price increases now flowing through the furniture industry, the question of how much demand destruction higher prices will cause has become increasingly relevant. Over the last year, incremental tariffs on imports from China, India, Vietnam, and other Asian countries have pushed furniture prices materially higher. The CPI reported a 4.0% year-over-year price increase for furniture and bedding in January 2026, accelerating for two consecutive months from an average of 2.9% in October and November...

Filed Under
affordability housing supply

Shift in International Immigration Slows National Population Growth, NY and NJ Growth Most Impacted

February 10, 2026 by Kevin Kaczmarek

Census recently released updated population estimates for the year ending July 1, 2025, showing growth slowed to 0.52%, the slowest since COVID-impacted 2020, driven by a significant deceleration in international immigration. State-level detail showed VT, HI, WV, NM and CA ranking at the bottom, with growth rates of...

Filed Under
demographics homeownership household formation

Building Product Suppliers Enter 2026 Under Price/Cost Pressure

January 29, 2026 by McClaran Hayes

Building products manufacturers are walking a tightrope into 2026, as input costs are still elevated (and in some cases re-accelerating), but the ability to push through pricing remains constrained by a soft residential volume backdrop and increasingly aggressive customer demands.

Filed Under
home improvement

Faith, Not Fundamentals: The Apartment Sector’s Defining Conflict in 2026

January 23, 2026 by Mark Franceski

An important theme for 2026 in the apartment sector will be the conflict between operating fundamentals and the transaction market. On the one hand, optimism abounds for a more liquid transaction market this year as capital allocators have plentiful funds, clear mandates, and a firmly positive stance toward the near-to-medium-term direction of the sector...

Filed Under
apartments

Housing Policy Takes Center Stage… Carrots and Sticks Galore!

January 16, 2026 by Alan Ratner

It’s been a dizzying start to the year for the homebuilding industry. Since October, President Trump, FHFA Director Pulte and other White House officials have been meeting with homebuilding executives to discuss the country’s housing affordability crisis and what steps the industry and government can take to relieve this burden on potential homebuyers...

Filed Under
affordability home pricing homebuilding homeownership interest rates mortgage mortgage rates

Cautiously Optimistic on the Main Course for 2026… with a Side of Wage Garnishment

January 08, 2026 by Ryan McKeveny

Looking ahead to 2026 for the housing market and its various subsectors, there are several reasons for optimism. We enter 2026 with mortgage rates at 6.2%, down 75 basis points from a year ago and near the lowest levels since 3Q22. Combined with home price growth that has lagged income growth over the last year – a trend we expect to continue...

Filed Under
affordability home improvement home pricing homeownership interest rates macro housing mortgage mortgage rates

Sumitomo Case Study: How Investment Banking Paved the Way for a Successful $215 Million Multifamily Platform Acquisition

December 08, 2023 by Tony McGill

Zelman Partners, a subsidiary of Walker & Dunlop, recently served as financial advisor to Japanese development company Sumitomo Forestry Co. (“Sumitomo”) on its $215 million acquisition of JPI, a leading developer in Class A and attainable multifamily communities. Building on Sumitomo’s previous acquisition of Crescent Communities in 2018, where Zelman also advised Sumitomo, this transaction catapults Sumitomo to a top-10 apartment developer in the U.S. The transaction closed on November 30, 2023.

Filed Under
apartments