While some people are still sitting around debating whether real estate is “dead,” one of the greatest investment machines ever created is quietly doing the exact opposite. Berkshire Hathaway is putting serious money into housing. The company Warren Buffett built has increased its investment in Lennar, added to its exposure to D.R. Horton, agreed to acquire Taylor Morrison, and already owns Clayton Homes. Think about that for a second. While social media experts are predicting the collapse of housing, the organization built by the Oracle of Omaha is positioning itself to own more of the companies that actually build America’s homes. I know whose judgment I would rather trust.

And Berkshire is not making a small bet. Its Lennar position grew by roughly 30%, to about $1.157 billion, after Berkshire had already invested heavily in Lennar and D.R. Horton. Then came the blockbuster: an agreement to acquire Taylor Morrison for approximately $8.5 billion. Add Clayton Homes, which Berkshire purchased more than two decades ago, and there is a pretty obvious pattern here. Berkshire is not running away from housing because mortgage rates are high or transactions have slowed. It is buying deeper into the industry while everybody else is nervous. That is exactly when great investors traditionally make their biggest moves.

Yes, Warren Buffett has stepped down as CEO and Greg Abel now runs Berkshire Hathaway. But pretending that suddenly makes Berkshire's investment philosophy irrelevant misses the point. Abel was Buffett's chosen successor, and Berkshire remains built around patience, value and looking beyond the next quarter. Abel has specifically pointed to the long-term strength of the American housing market and its underlying fundamentals. That matters. Berkshire is not trying to win next Tuesday's housing report. It is looking at where America will need homes five, ten and twenty years from now.

Meanwhile, much of the real estate industry is doing the opposite. Agents are shrinking their businesses. Brokerages are cutting marketing. People are waiting for mortgage rates to magically return to 3%. They are acting as if today's market is permanent. It isn't. America still has a housing shortage measured in the millions of homes. People will continue getting married, having children, relocating, retiring, downsizing, investing and buying property. Rates will change. Affordability will improve. Pent-up buyers will eventually move. The only real question is who will still be standing, prepared and positioned when the next cycle accelerates.

That should also be a wake-up call for real estate professionals. This is not the market to retreat from your career. It is the market to double down on it. If Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway sees opportunity in the future of housing, why would a Realtor decide now is the time to treat real estate like a side hustle? Difficult markets separate professionals from hobbyists. They create market share opportunities because competitors disappear, stop prospecting and stop investing in themselves. The agents who build relationships, databases and skills today could be the ones who dominate when transaction volume comes roaring back.

The same applies to brokerage owners. Running a small independent brokerage has become more expensive, more complicated and more competitive. Technology, compliance, recruiting, training, marketing, transaction support and agent retention all require scale. There comes a point where protecting the name on the door can actually prevent the business from growing. For brokers who want to remain in leadership without carrying every expense and operational headache alone, merging their brokerage into CANVAS Real Estate may be one of the smartest bets they can make on the next real estate cycle. And for individual agents who feel stuck where they are, bringing their careers to CANVAS means positioning themselves inside a growing organization instead of trying to navigate a changing market alone.

So forget the doom-and-gloom headlines for a minute and watch where the smart money is going. Berkshire Hathaway is not betting that Americans will suddenly stop needing homes. It is betting that today's disruption eventually creates tomorrow's opportunity. That is exactly how I see this market. Housing is not dying. It is resetting, consolidating and preparing for its next chapter. The winners will be the investors, agents and brokers who position themselves before everybody else realizes the recovery has started. If you believe, as I do, that the future of real estate is still enormously valuable, then now may be the time to make your own Buffett-style move: invest in your career, invest in scale, and consider making CANVAS Real Estate the platform you build your next chapter on.

If you want to know where the opportunities are developing in South Florida real estate, take a look at Coral Springs. A recent Coral Springs News report called it Broward County’s most competitive housing market, and the numbers explain why. During the first quarter of 2026, Coral Springs had just 2.6 months of single-family inventory, the tightest supply anywhere in Broward. In March, inventory was down 34% from a year earlier, and homes were going under contract in a median of only 25 days, the fastest pace in the county. 

And this is not just about single-family homes. Coral Springs condo and townhouse sales jumped an incredible 78% year over year in March, while the median price was only $219,000 compared with $269,700 countywide. That combination of affordability, strong demand and limited inventory is exactly what creates opportunity for buyers, sellers and, most importantly, Realtors who understand what is happening in their own backyard. 

Now look at the bigger Broward picture. The latest June numbers show Broward single-family sales increasing 26.0% year over year, from 1,030 transactions to 1,298. That growth rate actually outperformed both Miami-Dade, where single-family sales increased 16.8%, and Palm Beach County, where they increased 24.9%. Broward total residential sales were also up an impressive 21.1%, while condo sales increased 15.5%. 

What I find even more interesting is that this isn't happening only at the lower end of the market. Broward's $1 million-and-up sales increased 35% in June, while single-family median prices increased to $645,000. Earlier this year, the Coral Springs report was already showing Broward million-dollar sales climbing and strong activity in the $500,000-to-$600,000 condo segment. Demand is showing up at multiple price points. (MIAMI REALTORS® + RWorld)

At the same time, supply is tightening. Broward's total active residential inventory was down 19.5% year over year in June, and single-family inventory dropped more than 24%. That is a very different story from the narrative that South Florida is somehow drowning in homes for sale. In parts of Broward, and especially markets like Coral Springs, buyers are once again competing for good properties. 

This is why Realtors have to stop looking at South Florida as one market. Miami is not Broward. Broward is not Palm Beach. And Coral Springs is not Fort Lauderdale. Opportunities move from neighborhood to neighborhood and price point to price point. The agent who understands those differences can have a completely different year than the agent sitting at home waiting for somebody to call.

For Realtors looking for business, Broward is giving us plenty to work with right now. More sales mean more buyers who need representation, more homeowners who need to understand what their property is worth, more opportunities for listings and more conversations that can turn into transactions. If Coral Springs inventory is shrinking and properties are moving faster, that is not just a statistic. That is a reason to pick up the phone, call your database and start talking about what is happening.

I have always believed that successful Realtors position themselves where the opportunity is going, not where it has already been. Right now, Broward County deserves your attention, and Coral Springs may be one of the clearest examples of why. At CANVAS Real Estate, our job is to make sure our agents understand these changes early, know how to communicate them and turn that knowledge into business. Markets change, opportunities move, and the Realtors who are prepared to move with them are the ones who are going to win.

If you listen to some of the headlines, you would think the new Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules are going to kill the condo market. The actual sales numbers are telling us something very different. In June 2026, existing condo sales increased 11.96% in Miami-Dade, 15.53% in Broward and 18.64% in Palm Beach County compared with a year ago. Miami-Dade condo sales have now increased year over year in eight of the last 10 months. That doesn't look like the end of the condo market to me. It looks like a market adjusting and beginning to move forward again.

The latest Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac changes are certainly going to require us to understand condo financing better. Beginning August 3, the streamlined or “limited review” process was eliminated for most established condominium projects, meaning lenders will take a deeper look at the association's finances, insurance, reserves and physical condition. The current reserve allocation standard is generally 10%, and beginning January 4, 2027, Fannie Mae is increasing that benchmark to 15%, although associations can also qualify through an acceptable reserve study and appropriate funding.

I don't see that as the death of condos. I see it as something that can ultimately make the condo market stronger.Buyers deserve to know that the building they are purchasing into has money available for roofs, elevators, concrete restoration and other major repairs. A condo with properly funded reserves and fewer surprises should eventually become easier to understand, easier to finance and more attractive to buyers. We are moving toward a market where the financial health of the building becomes almost as important as the condition of the unit.

And over the long term, I believe this can actually help affordability. One of the biggest problems with an underfunded association isn't simply the monthly maintenance payment. It is the surprise $20,000, $40,000 or $70,000 assessment that an owner never planned for. Associations with declining reserves have been found to be more than 20% more likely to levy special assessments than associations with stable or growing reserves. Building those expenses into responsible reserve planning creates greater transparency and potentially far more predictable ownership costs.

There is also something being missed in much of the conversation: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not the entire mortgage market. If a condo building cannot satisfy agency project requirements, that does not automatically mean the buyer has to pay cash. Non-QM and portfolio lenders are actively financing non-warrantable condominiums. Angel Oak, Deephaven and A&D Mortgage are examples of lenders offering programs for these properties, and current A&D program materials advertise financing of up to 85% LTV on certain non-warrantable condo transactions, subject of course to borrower and project qualifications.

That is why Realtors need to be very careful about telling a buyer, “You can't finance this condo.” The better answer may be, “You can't finance this condo with this particular conventional loan.” Those are two completely different statements. Non-QM programs can include bank-statement financing, DSCR programs for investors and financing specifically designed for non-warrantable condos. The rate, down payment and underwriting may be different, but there are financing alternatives that can keep a transaction alive when an agency loan doesn't work.

South Florida condos remain one of the most important paths to homeownership in a market where single-family homes have become increasingly expensive. We should not be afraid of stronger buildings, better reserves and greater financial transparency. We should embrace them. There will be some disruption while associations, lenders, Realtors and buyers learn the new rules, but I believe what comes out on the other side will be a healthier condo market, more confident buyers and buildings that are better prepared for the future. The condo market isn't disappearing. It is growing up.

South Florida continues to be one of the most dynamic places in the country to live, work and invest. Population growth, job creation, international migration and lifestyle demand continue bringing new residents into Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. For investors, that creates one very important reality: more people means more demand for housing, and multifamily real estate is positioned directly in the middle of that growth.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro added approximately 123,000 residents between 2023 and 2024, bringing the population to roughly 6.46 million. Miami-Dade alone was estimated at more than 2.8 million residents in 2025, up 3.7% from its 2020 population base. Every new resident needs a place to live, and a large percentage of that growing population will choose to rent.

That is what makes the multifamily opportunity so interesting to me. South Florida is attracting young professionals, families, entrepreneurs, international residents and people relocating from other states. At the same time, higher home prices and financing costs are encouraging many people to rent longer before purchasing. That combination creates a large and constantly renewing pool of renters.

And the numbers show that demand remains strong. In March 2026, the Miami metro had a 6.6% multifamily vacancy rate, the lowest among the largest metro areas in the South, while asking rents were still growing year over year. Rents increased in 56% of South Florida submarkets. Even after years of development, South Florida continues absorbing apartments.

But multifamily is not just about collecting rent. It can become a tremendous wealth-building vehicle when you buy the right property at the right numbers. Multiple tenants are helping pay down the mortgage, building equity and producing income every month. Improve the property, operate it better and increase the net operating income, and you can potentially create additional value instead of simply waiting for appreciation.

That is one of the biggest advantages multifamily has over owning one rental house. If your single-family tenant leaves, your property becomes 100% vacant. If you own ten units and one becomes vacant, you still have nine producing income. You have multiple income streams working from one investment.

Now add time. Tenants help reduce your debt. Rents can increase. The property can appreciate. Improvements can increase income and potentially increase the value of the entire building. Real estate ownership may also provide depreciation and other tax advantages depending on an investor's situation. Put those pieces together over 10, 15 or 20 years and you begin to understand how multifamily has helped create generational wealth.

Of course, the opportunity is not simply buying any apartment building you can find. South Florida has significant new multifamily construction underway, which means location, purchase price, financing, insurance, taxes, existing rents and future development all have to be studied carefully. The opportunity is in buying intelligently, not simply buying.

I keep coming back to the same fundamentals: South Florida is growing, people continue moving here and housing demand is not going away. For investors ready to think beyond one property and one tenant at a time, multifamily can offer income, equity growth, scalability and long-term appreciation all working together. In a market attracting this many new residents, I believe owning the housing they need can be one of the most powerful long-term wealth-building strategies available to South Florida investors.

The 2026 World Cup did more than bring soccer fans to Miami. It brought another massive wave of international attention to a city that was already one of the most recognized real estate markets in the world.

Miami hosted seven World Cup matches, and during the tournament we saw exactly what you would expect: hotels filled up, short-term rental demand jumped, restaurants were busy and visitors poured into South Florida from around the world.

But for me, the bigger story is not what happened during those few weeks. The bigger story is what happens after all those visitors go home.

Think about how many people came to Miami for a soccer game and discovered Brickell, Downtown, Miami Beach, Coconut Grove and Coral Gables for the first time. They came for the World Cup, but they also experienced the restaurants, the beaches, the lifestyle, the weather and everything else that continues attracting people to South Florida.

Brickell and Downtown were obvious winners because visitors want convenience. They want restaurants downstairs, entertainment nearby, easy transportation and access to everything Miami has to offer. Those are exactly the same things renters and buyers look for when they decide where they want to live.

Miami Beach is a completely different story, but just as powerful. There are very few places in the United States with that kind of international name recognition. A major event like the World Cup simply puts that brand in front of millions more people.

Then you have areas like Coconut Grove and Coral Gables. Maybe they don't get the same headlines, but they offer something many renters and buyers are looking for: neighborhoods, restaurants, walkability and quality of life while still being close to the center of Miami.

This is why I always say you cannot invest in real estate based on one event. The World Cup comes and goes. What matters is whether people still want to be there when the event is over. Miami has tourism, international business, population growth, limited desirable land and a lifestyle people continue paying a premium to experience.

The World Cup didn't create Miami's real estate story. It simply introduced Miami to another few hundred thousand potential future renters, buyers and investors. And that is the opportunity I would be watching now: not what happened during the tournament, but which neighborhoods continue benefiting from all the new people who discovered Miami because of it.

For two years the story in South Florida was oversupply. Condo inventory ballooning, days on market stretching, buyers taking their time. That story is over, and the data says so plainly but the narrative hasn't caught up, which means there's a window right now for the agents and loan officers paying attention. Miami-Dade's total active listings fell 11.9% year over year in May 2026, from 18,879 to 16,615, marking the fourth consecutive monthly decline. Statewide, Florida ended April with 101,024 active single-family listings, down 13.7% from a year earlier. Inventory isn't "about to" go negative in South Florida. It already has, and it's accelerating in that direction.

Look at the county-level numbers and the trend gets sharper. In the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–Pompano Beach metro, single-family inventory has tightened 29% year over year to 13,319 active listings. Broward's condominium inventory the segment everyone spent 2025 calling a glut  fell 17.1% year over year in June 2026, from 11,686 listings to 9,688. Palm Beach County inventory dropped 8% year to date and now sits roughly 11% below its 2016–2019 average, while Broward is 4% below pre-pandemic norms. Both counties fell below pre-pandemic inventory levels for the first time since 2022. Months of supply tells the same story: Miami-Dade single-family is at roughly 4.9 months and Broward at 4.3 both squarely seller's-market territory by MIAMI Realtors' own classification.

Here's the mechanic driving it, and it's the part worth understanding because it explains why this reverses faster than people expect. Supply is shrinking from both ends at once. On one end, sales are absorbing it  South Florida contracts signed hit 42,935 in the first half of 2026, up 9.3% from 39,289 a year earlier. On the other end, sellers are simply leaving. New listings across South Florida totaled 64,155 in the first half, down 7.8% year over year, with declines showing up in nearly every month for both houses and condos. Statewide, one tracker attributed a 10.9% inventory decline specifically to sellers withdrawing listings, with delistings in some Florida markets running roughly 2.4 times their two-year norm in June 2026. The reasons are rational: owners holding sub-4% mortgages won't sell into softness and re-buy at 6.5%, and sellers anchored to 2022 valuations would rather pull the sign than book a loss. Whatever the motive, the effect on the board is identical fewer homes for your buyer to choose from every single month.

Now the second half of the story, and this is the one that actually helps your buyers: the listings that stayed are getting priced honestly for the first time in four years. Price reductions climbed back to 25.2% of Florida listings by mid-2026, up from a low of 21.6% in December 2025  one in four sellers meeting the market instead of waiting for it. Broward's condo median came in at $265,000 in June, down 1.83% year over year. Miami-Dade's condo median has been running near $415,000, off meaningfully from its peak. Statewide, Florida's typical home value settled around $392,443 in May, down 3.0% year over year. That's not a collapse — it's price discovery, and it is exactly what a market needs after a run like 2021–2022. Sellers who price to today's reality are moving: Miami-Dade single-family homes went under contract in a median of 52 days in June.

And the payment math has genuinely changed, which is the part most agents haven't recalculated. Citizens Property Insurance rolled out premium reductions starting in spring 2026 averaging 14.0% for Miami-Dade policyholders, against an 8.7% statewide average, with at least 17 private insurers having re-entered Florida since the 2022–2023 reforms. Insurance was the fastest-growing line item at closing for three straight years; it's now moving the other direction. Mortgage rates averaged 6.47% in mid-June 2026, down from 6.81% a year prior. Wages in the Miami metro rose 4.6% for the year ending March 2026  the largest increase among the fifteen largest U.S. metropolitan areas, against 3.4% nationally. NAR's Housing Affordability Index climbed to 105.6 in May 2026 from 97.5 a year earlier. Lower insurance, lower rates, higher wages, softer condo prices: four variables, all moving in the buyer's favor at the same time. That has not happened here since 2019.

Buyers have already noticed, even if the headlines haven't. Miami-Dade total home sales rose year over year for the ninth consecutive month in May and the tenth in June the county's best June in three years. Broward posted its fourth straight month of annual gains in June, with total sales up 21.1%, single-family transactions up 26%, and condo sales up 15.5%. The action isn't confined to the top, either: Broward condo sales in the $400,000–$500,000 range surged 26% year over year, and Miami-Dade condo sales between $200,000 and $300,000 jumped 23%. Palm Beach and Broward each saw second-quarter sales climb more than 20% over the first quarter. Demand is returning to the exact price points where working South Florida families buy.

So here is the play for the back half of 2026, and it's less about prospecting than it is about excavation. Your database is full of people who were told "not right now" between 2023 and 2025 the buyer whose debt-to-income failed on a $9,000 insurance quote that is now $7,700; the condo shopper who walked when the building's assessment landed; the family that got priced out at 7.1% who hasn't run the numbers at 6.4% with a year of raises behind them. Those files aren't dead leads. They're pre-qualified relationships whose underlying math moved without them knowing it. This is where the loan officer–agent partnership earns its keep: pull the CRM, sort by "declined" and "paused," and re-run them together. Know the specifics that will come up like the fact that of 2,397 condominium buildings across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach, only a handful are FHA-approved, which determines which buildings your entry-level buyer can actually finance. The agent who can answer that question on the first call wins the client.

Markets don't send out announcements when they turn. They just quietly stop offering what they were offering six months ago, and the people who were still working through the slow stretch are the ones holding the relationships when volume returns. Inventory is contracting, sellers are pricing realistically, carrying costs are falling, wages are rising, and sales have climbed for ten straight months in the largest county in the state  and a meaningful share of agents have spent this year waiting for a signal instead of reading one. If you've been thinking about where to take your business, or who to build it alongside, this is the stretch that decides who owns 2027. The buyers are already calling. The question is whose number they have.