Construction News Today — August 7, 2026
Rocket weathers spring housing slowdown, gaining purchase and refi share in Q2 and more — today's construction signal.
The housing market may be experiencing a slowdown, but that doesn't mean lenders and investors aren't finding ways to adapt and thrive. Rocket Mortgage, for example, reported gains in both purchase and refinance share in the second quarter, weathering the spring housing slowdown. This is in contrast to some of the challenges facing other parts of the industry, such as rising mortgage fraud risk, which increased 9.1% in Q2 according to a report from Certainty.
Despite these challenges, there are also signs of innovation and growth in key areas. In New York City, for instance, officials are expanding a finance pool to support office-to-residential conversions, which could help breathe new life into underutilized commercial properties. Meanwhile, major players in the single-family rental market, such as AMH and Invitation Homes, are plotting the future of the build-to-rent sector. And in mortgage lending, companies like UWM and Pennymac are making moves to reset their leverage targets and roll out new products, such as Pennymac's VA partial claim option. These developments are worth watching as the construction and real estate industries continue to evolve.
Today's signal:
• Rocket weathers spring housing slowdown, gaining purchase and refi share in Q2 (housingwire.com)
• NYC expands finance pool for office-to-residential makeovers (housingwire.com)
• UWM pays up for capital as it resets leverage targets (housingwire.com)
• Pennymac rolls out VA partial claim option ahead of November deadline (housingwire.com)
• Cotality says mortgage fraud risk rose 9.1% in Q2 (housingwire.com)
• ROAD map: AMH and Invitation Homes plot BTR’s way forward (housingwire.com)