What’s News in Earnings: Homebuilders Offer Clues on the U.S. Housing Market

WSJ What’s News

The Wall Street Journal

News, Daily News

4.1 • 4.2K Ratings

🗓️ 20 February 2026

⏱️ 7 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Bonus Episode for Feb. 20. Financial results from homebuilders PulteGroup, D.R. Horton and Toll Brothers give investors a peek at the forces shaping housing markets across the country ahead of the all-important spring selling season. Wall Street Journal national housing reporter Nicole Friedman discusses insights into affordability and regional differences. Veronica Dagher hosts this special bonus episode of What's News in Earnings, where we dig into companies’ earnings reports and analyst calls to find out what’s going on under the hood of the American economy. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Sharpen your perspective on the future of technology and business in 2026.
0:04.0	Take a look inside the new edition of ThoughtWorks Looking Glass and discover how business leaders can prepare their organizations for the future and make informed decisions that have a lasting impact.
0:15.0	Find out more at ThoughtWorks.com slash Looking Glass.
0:19.0	Hey listeners. Thanks.com slash lookingglass.
0:26.7	Hey listeners, it's Friday, February 20th.
0:29.0	I'm Veronica Dagger for the Wall Street Journal.
0:31.8	And this is What's News in Earnings.
0:35.6	Our look at some of the biggest themes standing out this earnings season.
0:39.2	The U.S. housing market is entering the 2026 spring selling season in an uneasy equilibrium. Mortgage rates have settled into a new normal, about 6%.
0:46.2	But for many, the American dream feels further away than ever. The nation's biggest home builders
0:52.6	are telling different stories about the housing market.
0:56.0	This week, Toll Brothers reported a jump in profit fueled by luxury buyers. Meanwhile, the entry-level
1:03.2	builder, D.R. Horton is shrinking home sizes and piling on incentives just to keep first-time
1:10.3	buyers in the game.
1:12.4	And Pulte Group is highlighting the country's growing geographic divide.
1:17.6	Joining me to break down what all this means for the housing market
1:21.0	is WSJ National Housing Reporter Nicole Friedman.
1:26.5	Nicole, let's start with this geographic divide. Pulte Group is seeing a
1:31.0	notable split. Demand in Florida was improving, but cooling for families in the West. How does what
1:37.6	the company is saying reflect different housing trends across the country? Yeah, so we have
1:43.2	definitely seen different housing markets in different parts of
1:46.5	the country. There's been a lot more competition and rising home prices in the northeast and
	...

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