It may (finally) be easier to buy a home this year

Tech Insider : Economy, Business, Style
A hand holding a small home and a sliced price tag

Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI

It was supposed to be the year that America's real estate market came back to life — until it wasn't.

I'm set to inherit my childhood home abroad. I'm not sure it will be worth the headache.

Tech Insider : Business, Economy
A man and a woman taking a selfie.
Katarina Polonska and her husband are both set to inherit properties abroad from their parents.

Courtesy of Katarina Polonska

Get ready to enter a bidding war in these 10 housing markets this year

Tech Insider : Business
Hartford, Connecticut, skyline.
The Northeast made up more than half of the top 10 hottest metros for 2026.

Bruce Peter Morin/Getty Images

These 10 housing markets top the list for first-time homebuyers

Tech Insider : Business
A for-sale sign is displayed outside a home for sale in Los Angeles, California.

Patrick T. Fallon / AFP

Saving for a down payment is getting easier. Here are 8 markets where it takes under 5 years.

Tech Insider : Business
An aerial view of a neighborhood in New Braunfels, Texas.
The time it takes to save for a home down payment fell to about seven years in 2025.

TrongNguyen/Getty Images

Meet the real estate CEO who wants to reshape how Americans buy and sell homes

Tech Insider : Business, Style, Technology
Photo collage of Robert Reffkin

Brad Barket/Getty; Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI

It's almost 9 p.m. on a Wednesday in November, and Robert Reffkin is working the phones.

I got two grants to put $15,000 toward buying my first home. Incentive programs are my favorite hack for homeownership.

Tech Insider : Business
A woman sitting on the porch of a home in Baltimore.
Kourtnee Turner bought her first home in Maryland after stacking homebuying incentives offered by the state.

Courtesy of Kourtnee Turner

I decided to live in a build-to-rent community after buying a home. I'll never buy again.

Tech Insider : Business
A row of townhouses.
Former homeowner John Santa Orta found a townhouse to rent that feels like he's owning.

Quinn Residences.

I trusted AI instead of an agent to buy a home. I saved around $7,000 in fees.

Tech Insider : Business
Photo collage of a woman, a house, and AI home searching

Getty Images; Tyler Le/BI

These Texas cities have the healthiest real estate markets in the US. See who else made the top 10.

Tech Insider : Business, Environment
An aerial view of Plano, Texas.
Texas cities fill up multiple spots in the top 10 healthiest markets list.

Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images

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