Active buyers are looking for more expensive homes, while price-constrained buyers are looking at fewer homes altogether.

Three years after the opening of a large center, ZIP codes retained 66% of their pre-opening active listings, compared to 43% in similar areas without a data center.

The same trends were seen in the city of Chicago and across Illinois. 

Curb appeal is important to today’s homeowners — that is, they want the exteriors of their homes to appeal to their own preferences and sensibilities rather than those of potential buyers.

Amid what Realtor.com called the most active spring in years, the housing market is finding a new equilibrium.

Houzz compared first quarter user activity to year-ago levels to determine the emerging home trends for summer 2026. Here’s what they found.

Short answer: Yes. But not quite in the way mom and dad did it, according to a survey of over 2,000 American renters and would-be homeowners.

Among over 600 home features and design aspects, exposed beams were the most popular — home listings featuring the element saw 19.7% more engagement on Zillow.com.

Boomers made up 42% of all homebuyers during the period from July 2024 to June 2025, unchanged from the same time a year prior. Millennials lost market share, making up 26% of buyers, down 3% year over year.

Redfin noted that millennials are currently the largest generation, making the rate of boomer homeownership even more outsized in comparison.

The 2026 National Housing Supply Summit was held in Washington, D.C., on March 18.

Illinois isn’t a foreign buyer’s market waiting to happen. It is one that’s been quietly thriving for years.  

After five years of worsening, housing affordability has finally started to improve, according to a new Redfin study. 

Bold, geometric designs like chevrons, sunbursts, zigzags and stepped shapes are making a huge comeback as of late — and Houzz said that will continue into 2026.

At the same time, the average age of the first-time buyer hit an all-time high of 40, according to the 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. 

At the top of the list? WaterSense fixtures — the plumbing solution, which claims to reduce water use by more than 20%, increased in popularity by 289.6%.