The pace of Houston home sales fell 4.3% year over year in January, according to the latest REMAX National Housing Report.
Nationally, home sales in the 51 metro areas surveyed by REMAX declined 6% year over year and 32% month over month.
The number of homes for sale in January rose 10.9% year over year and dipped 0.1% month over month, marking the 25th consecutive month of annual gains. Months’ supply of inventory was 3.1 months, up from 2.8 months in January 2025 and down from 3.5 months in December. Miami continued to lead the nation in months’ supply, with seven months following a 2.3% annual increase from 7.2 months.
The national median sales price rose 1% year over year to $425,000. Month over month, it was down 2%. The average close-to-list-price ratio was 98%, the same as in January 2025 and December 2025.
“In a month that is traditionally slow, inventory was higher than it was a year ago, and new listings came to market, giving buyers more options,” REMAX CEO Erik Carlson said. “Even as sales adjusted seasonally, the fundamentals point to a market that continues moving toward balance.”
Amid President Trump’s call to ban large investment firms from buying single-family homes, purchases by investors are the highest they’ve been in five years, according to a new report from BatchData.
The research company used data from The Investor Pulse Report, prepared with business intelligence firm CJ Patrick Company, to track growth trends in investor-owned properties. The data included purchases by small-scale and large investors.
Investor-led purchases made up 34% of all single-family residential sales in the third quarter of 2025, up 25.5% year over year and 1% from the second quarter.
Investors currently own 18% of 86 million single-family homes nationwide. One-third of these investor-owned properties are concentrated in just five states — Texas, California, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia.
North Carolina (25%), Georgia (19%), and Texas (18.2%) surpass the national average for investor ownership.
But, BatchData researchers point out, there may be more to this trend upon deeper inspection.
“Two seemingly incongruous trends continue to show themselves,” said BatchData Co-Founder and President Ivo Draginov in a press release “While the percentage of homes purchased by investors rose to a five-year high, the actual number of homes purchased was 23,000 fewer than a year ago. This suggests [that] the higher percentage is due to traditional homeowners retreating from the market rather than overly aggressive investor activity.”
Notably, small-scale firms own the largest share of investor-held single-family homes. Investors owning one to five properties make up 92% of all investor-owned single-family homes and those with six to 10 properties hold 4%. Investors with over 1,000 properties account for a 2% share.
A number of notable landlords and developers found themselves in trouble in New York this week.
Steve Croman is combating more than 28 active foreclosure lawsuits targeting properties he controls. In total, lenders allege Croman’s entities defaulted on more than $231 million in loan principals.
Twenty-one of the foreclosure suits were filed in the last week, many zby lender Orange Owner LLC. The principal of those associated loans totals more than $189 million
In a court filing, Croman denied many of the allegations.
But it’s just the latest issue for the man once dubbed the city’s worst landlord, who served an eight-month stint for mortgage and tax fraud and was sued over the summer by his own father.
Croman’s not the only real estate figure involved in a difficult family affair. The Ostad brothers, a trio of New York real estate investors, were named as defendants in nine foreclosure suits related to loans totaling more than $70 million.
The brothers stopped making payments on the loans in April, according to the plaintiff. That’s the same month that Michael and Edward sued Steven, hoping to dissolve their family partnerships; Steven is only named in three of the cases, while his brothers are named in all of them.
The older Ostad brothers lead fix-and-flip lender Flatiron Realty Capital. Steven is the founder of residential brokerage Empire City Realty and lender Real Quick Capital, though both appear to be closed.
No stranger to his only family drama, Alex Sapir is in the midst of the messy process to wind down his business.
Sapir Corp placed its Nomo Soho hotel into Chapter 11, the latest development in the ongoing collapse and liquidation of the Israeli-backed real estate company.
The firm is seeking to run a court-supervised auction for the 26-story boutique hotel at 9 Crosby Street. Its petition is designed to cement a sale and pay down Sapir Corp’s $155 million in bond debt across two Israeli bond series.
The bankruptcy filing comes three weeks after Sapir entered insolvency proceedings in Israel, where the company told the Tel Aviv-Jaffa District Court it could no longer meet bond payments or cover operating costs. All of its directors resigned and a trustee is overseeing the company as it winds down.
Elsewhere in the city, Manhattan’s favorite contested sculpture garden was back in the news this week, courtesy of a feud between the outgoing and incoming mayors.
The would-be developers of the Haven Green affordable housing complex at the Elizabeth Street Garden sued the city, claiming the mayor illegally dedicated the site as a city park.
Pennrose, Riseboro and Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester, who were chosen in 2017 to build 123 senior housing units on the city-owned site, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday.
They want the court to annul the parkland designation.
Ahead of the November election, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani indicated that he would move forward with Haven Green and evict the garden. After the Adams administration declared the land a park, Mamdani told reporters that pursuing the project would be “nearly impossible,” as using city parkland for other uses would require action by the state legislature.
Perhaps the lawsuit makes it a little less impossible.
Finally, when the city began its search for developers of a site in the Meatpacking District, the request for proposals encouraged — but did not mandate — the inclusion of an “emerging developer.”
The RFP described a candidate that had completed fewer than 10 projects in the past decade, each with fewer than 150 residential units, no more than 100,000 square feet and a cost below $30 million. Simple enough.
So the EDC selected Kinwood Partners — alongside Douglaston Development — to build 590 housing units on a city-owned site.
Kinwood hasn’t developed anything, so all good, right?
Well, it’s led by someone — David Himmel — who spent a decade working for a major real estate firm as well as on projects in the neighborhood. Himmel is the former chief operating officer at Jamestown and son of Leslie Wohlman Himmel, co-founder of investment firm Himmel & Meringoff Properties.
Naturally, the firm’s selection raised questions about the intent of designations like “emerging developer” in public-private endeavors.
Read more
Steve Croman defaulted on $231 million in principal, lenders allege
Ostad brothers face foreclosure suits over $70M in loans
Sapir Corp puts Nomo Soho into bankruptcy, prepares for liquidation
Eight new 55+ homes planned on 1.2 acres at 107 Comsewogue Road.
$4M expansion follows the $35M first phase completed in 2022.
Crest Group is expanding its East Setauket townhouse development with a new phase of the project.
Town of Brookhaven officials and civic leaders joined the developer at a groundbreaking ceremony last week for phase two of the Villas at Setauket, which will add eight more residences on a 1.2-acre site at 107 Comsewogue Road next to the existing 55-and-over development.
The $4 million second phase will add four townhomes and four garden-style apartment homes for renters age 55 and over that are expected to be completed next fall.
The $35 million first phase of the Villas at Setauket development created 92 rental townhomes on 17 acres at 109 Comsewogue Road. That part of the project was completed in 2022. Amenities at Villas at Setauket include a clubhouse, dog parks, community gardens, a pool, grilling stations and pickleball courts. Monthly rents start at about $4,100 for two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom units.
“The Crest Group is proud to deliver this addition to our Villas at Setauket community after several years of planning and coordinating with the Town of Brookhaven and local civics,” said Daniel Scarda, director of corporate finance for Crest Group. “The Crest Group family has been building housing communities in this part of East Setauket since 2003, and this second phase of the Villas at Setauket rental townhome community is an excellent addition for the surrounding area. We thank all of the parties involved including the Setauket Meadows community members that gave us their input, as well as the Town of Brookhaven staff who helped us navigate the approval process.”
The development team includes Anthony Cucuzzo of D&B Architects and Engineers, attorney Tim Shea of Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman and Maxwell Scandale of Cashin Associates.
Earlier this year, Crest Group began construction of a $35 million rental community in Middle Island. Called The Villas at Oak Run, the project will bring 74 two-bedroom townhomes on a 23.5-acre site at the northeast corner of Birchwood Park Drive and Middle Country Road for renters aged 55 and older.
Each of the apartments will have a one-car garage. Amenities at the Middle Island development will include an indoor fitness center, half-mile walking path and an outdoor recreational area with pickleball courts.
The residential real estate brokerage world was rocked Monday with news of the industry’s largest-ever consolidation.
Compass announced a $1.6 billion deal to acquire Anywhere Real Estate in an all-stock transaction.
The acquisition will make Compass the world’s largest residential real estate firm with an enterprise value of about $10 billion, according to a joint statement from the two publicly traded companies.
Once the transaction is completed in the second half of 2026, Compass, which also owns Christie’s International Real Estate, will take over Anywhere’s brands, including Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, Corcoran, ERA and Sotheby’s International Realty.
With the merger of the two real estate giants, Compass will have 340,000 real estate professionals globally serving about 120 countries and territories. The company, which was already the top brokerage firm before the acquisition, reported 2024 revenue of $5.629 billion.
Compass CEO and founder Robert Reffkin said he has “deep respect” for Anywhere’s leadership, agents, employees, culture and brands.
“By bringing together two of the best companies in our industry, while preserving the unique independence of Anywhere’s leading brands, we now have the resources to build a place where real estate professionals can thrive for decades to come,” Reffkin, who will continue to lead the combined companies, said in the statement.
The consolidation of Compass and Anywhere is expected to cut combined operating costs by about $255 million a year by combining operations and eliminating redundancies. Compass projects it will complete 1.2 million home sales annually as a result of the merger and add more than $1 billion in sales from Anywhere’s established franchise, title and escrow, and relocation operations, according to the statement.
Here on Long Island, where most of the brands involved in the merger are prominent, brokers differ on the local significance of the deal.
Joseph Sabella, owner of Oakdale-based RealPro Consulting, said the Compass/Anywhere merger isn’t likely to have any major implications for the Long Island real estate market.
“Our market is largely driven by local inventory, pricing, and relationships,” Sabella told LIBN. “Where we may see ripple effects is on a national level, particularly in how the combined company positions itself against major players like Zillow and even the National Association of Realtors. It’s a strategic move, but its influence will be felt more broadly across the industry than here at home.”
Peter Morris, founder and co-owner of Huntington-based Signature Premier Properties said the Compass acquisition of Anywhere is a bold but risky deal.
“They are taking on significant debt, and Wall Street‘s immediate response has not been favorable, with their stock falling following the announcement,” Morris said in a written statement. “Growth and consolidation on this scale always comes with challenges. We know firsthand that agents do not like change and for those at Coldwell Banker, Corcoran, or other Anywhere brands, change is inevitable. The forecast of $255 million in savings points to layoffs, office consolidations, tech platform shifts, and leaner marketing departments.”
