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Want more housing market stories from Lance Lamberts ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. During its earnings call on Wednesday, executives at Lennara giant homebuilder with a market capitalization of $27 billionsaid the federal government is working on a plan to help alleviate strained housing affordability. Lennar executives said federal officials are actively engaging with homebuilders and industry groups to better understand constraintsand to avoid policies that could unintentionally damage supply. While no specific program was outlined, management suggested it would be surprising if no meaningful action emerged in 2026, given current discussions. Here’s what Stuart Miller, co-CEO of Lennar, said on its December 17, 2025, earnings call: I think the crystal ball around government activity is really complicated, but I can tell you that a number of homebuilders have gone in to see critical officials within the [federal] government. We have received a lot of attention. There’s a lot of thought process going on. You’ve seen trial balloons put out around various types of programs. What’s interesting is that the government has been very tuned in to the industry to make sure that they’re not walking into unintended consequences. So whatever is done, that it be constructed properly, is important. And to your question of you know, do I think that something will come out in 2026? I’d be surprised if something isn’t done. I think affordability is very much on the table. It’s a political issue right now, and I think across the country, you’re hearing the drumbeat of that being a primary focal point, and politically it’s important that someone pick up the mantle and do something to address it, rather than just throw money at it. So it’ll be interesting, and we’ll have to sit back and wait and see what comes out. This week, Americas second-largest homebuilder, Lennar, reported additional gross margin compression in the past quarter, as it had to spend more on incentives to maintain sales volume amid the soft housing market environment. To maintain sales in this softer market, Lennar spent an average of 14% of the final sales price on incentivessuch as mortgage rate buydownsin Q4 2025, up from 10% in Q4 2024. In normal times, Lennars sales incentive rate is around 5% to 6%. On its typical sale, Lennar spent $62,837 on incentives last quarter, according to ResiClubs analysis published on December 18. Whats interesting is that Lennar appeared to suggest to analysts on December 17 that whatever the federal government is cooking up could be enough to improve housing market conditions and reduce Lennars currently elevated incentive spending/improve margins. According to Miller: The strategy is: Let us [Lennar] build the volume that the country and the consumers need. Let’s make it affordable at this time where affordability is so strained, and let’s find ways to make ourselves more efficient, and let’s expect that something is going to come through the governmental ranks to support that affordability and enable the market to enter the housing market, and the reduction in incentives is going to flow through to our margin. What kind of action does Lennar think the federal government could take that would be meaningful enough to reduce incentive spending and expand margins? Lennar didnt say. Back on November 8, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte and President Donald Trump announced that the administration was exploring a 50-year mortgage option to help lower some homebuyers monthly payments. Within minutes of the announcement, a sizable backlash erupted on social media, and Pulte began walking back the idea. Amid that 50-year mortgage backlash, Pulte also floated the idea of portable mortgages. It remains unclear what he meant by portable (for example, an expansion of assumable mortgages?), whether such a policy would be legal, or how seriously the idea was being considered. The Trump administration previously discussed the idea of Freedom Citiesselling off more federal land that could be used to build housing and new communities.
Category:
E-Commerce
The tech industry has endured another turbulent year, buffeted by the continued rise of artificial intelligence and the economic threats posed by President Donald Trumps tariffs. Even the most prominent companies encountered challenges they never imagined theyd have to face. As 2025 comes to a close, here are Apple’s biggest wins and greatest failures of the year. Apples biggest wins of 2025 iPhone 17 series Without a doubt, Apples biggest win of 2025 is the iPhone 17 series, which includes the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Myriad reports suggest that iPhone 17 series sales have exceeded both Apples and investors expectations. Apple redesigned the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Pro this year, giving the former a much-improved display, a vastly better camera system, and longer battery life. The Pro versions got an all-new unibody design, the best cameras in an iPhone ever, and up to 39 hours of battery life. While these improvements are mainly iterative, they ticked the boxes that consumers care most about in their phones: camera and battery life. And those consumers have rewarded Apple for it. iPhone 17 sales have surged in the U.S. and, more importantly, in China, the worlds largest smartphone market after the USA. Apples iPhone sales were a key factor in the recovery of the company’s stock, after it got hammered earlier this year due to its possible exposure to Trumps tariffs. Liquid Glass After the iPhone, Apples next most important product is iOS, the operating system that powers its handsets. This year, Apple made the rare move of completely revamping the look of that operating system with the introduction of the Liquid Glass design language in iOS 26. It was the first time the company had radically changed iOS’s look since 2013. While iOS 26s Liquid Glass faced early criticism, as most visual overhauls do, Apple has continued to tweak the look and feel of the new design language. As a result, much of the online furor over the changes seems to have died down. More importantly, iOS 26’s new design gives Apples smartphone software a distinct look that immediately distinguishes it from Android. In the end, the softwares ability to mimic the way light bands and warps through glass has brought a level of fun and playfulness to Apples flagship product not seen since the days of Steve Jobs. Apples simplified branding The final big win for Apple in 2025 is not a product or feature, but a branding strategy. As Apples product lineup has grown in recent years, its product names have become confusing, particularly when it comes to software and services. But this year, Apple decided to simplify things. Previously, Apple’s operating systems were branded with different version numbers (iOS 18, macOS 15, watchOS 11, etc). Now they’re named after the upcoming year: iOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, iPadOS 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26. This streamlined naming structure makes it easy for users to determine whether their device is running the latest software. And Apple didnt stop there. The company also mercifully decided to drop the overused plus sign from its streaming services name, too. Apples greatest failures of 2025 iPhone Air While the iPhone 17 series may have been full of iterative updates this year (which consumers seem to have loved), Apple swung for the fences with another 2025 iPhone: the all-new iPhone Air. At just 5.6 millimeters, it is Apple’s thinnest iPhone ever. Yet multiple reports say that there has been hardly any demand for the companys newest smartphone. The main problems with the iPhone Air seem to be its subpar camera system and relatively short battery life. As the success of the iPhone 17 series teaches us, those are the two things customers care about most. Demand for the new device is so weak that Apple has reportedly cut production by more than 80%. Still, Apple may have already gotten what it really wanted: proof of concept that it could make an iPhone so thin that it could join two together to create the first dual-screen iPhone foldable. Apple Intelligence 2025 may have been a year of continued artificial intelligence progression across the tech industry, but Apples AI system, Apple Intelligence, hardly added any new AI featuresnot worthwhile ones, anyway. The company added some useful Live Translation features, but other than that, it mainly just enhanced Apple Intelligence with gimmicks that other AI systems have long been capable of, such as on-screen image recognition and new AI slop filters. Those hoping to see a revamped Siri that could compete with the likes of OpenAIs ChatGPT and Googles Gemini will have to wait until 2026or later. Yet I question how much consumers care about Apple lagging in the AI space, given that they can already run nearly any third-party AI app on their iPhone. Still, the lack of innovative AI advancements is a bad look for the company, which is otherwise the de facto innovation leader in the industry. Apple Vision Pro M5 One area in which Applehas undoubtedly innovated in recent years is augmented reality, thanks to its groundbreaking Apple Vision Pro headset. In 2025, Apple announced the successor to the original Vision Pro, updated with the M5 Apple Silicon chip, which enables higher resolution and other display enhancements. Yet Apple didnt address the myriad other issues with the technologically impressive device, notably its heavy weight and eye-watering $3,499 price point. Because of this, the headset remains a niche product that is unappealing or financially out of reach to the average user.
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E-Commerce
Have you ever tried quickly looking something up on Wikipediajust because youre curious or maybe for workonly to, a half an hour later, wonder why youre reading about the history of the European Space Agency? In my opinion, Wikipedia is one of the last good websites on the internet. Outside of the occasional fundraiser, there are no ads, no dark patterns, and no clickbaitits just information. Which leaves no doubt in my mind that falling into a Wikipedia rabbit hole is healthier than scrolling on social media. Even so, it can be addictive, and links are the reason why. Every Wikipedia article is jam packed with links to other Wikipedia articles, which is exactly why you end up down rabbit holes. Often, though, you dont understand how you wound up where you didso what if you could visualize exactly that? This tip originally appeared in the free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. Get the next issue in your inbox and get ready to discover all sorts of awesome tech treasures! Your new digital cork board To create a visualization of how you got from point A to point B on Wikipedia, head to Wikiboard. Wikiboard creates a mind mapwhich allows you to see how various concepts are connectedas you browse Wikipedia. You can start browsing immediately. To get started, open Wikiboard and enter your search termit will pull up the corresponding Wikipedia page. The first article you select opens in its own box on Wikiboard, and as you browse, the site creates new boxes for every link you click, drawing lines from one article to another as they open. Once your board is created, you can scroll and zoom as much as you like. You can also rearrange the boxes and add sticky notes, allowing you to organize and add a bit of context to everything as you browse. ~wikiboard.pngThis isn’t your father’s Wikipedia.~ One note: Wikiboard is currently only for larger screens, so you wont be able to use it on your phone. This could be a useful research tool, enabling you to see how concepts relate to each other as youre learning. You can even save separate boards in your browser so you to come back to them later. And while I could spin this as purely a research tool, its also just plain fun. Theres something amazing about visualizing your Wikipedia rabbit holes. Next time you feel like going on a deep dive, give Wikiboard a go. Going back and seeing the steps you took on your Wikipedia rabbit hole is endless entertaining, and can teach you a lot about your interests as well. You can open Wikiboard in your browser on any desktop-sized device. Wikiboard is free to use. You can opt to make a donation to support the developer if you like, but its not required. You dont need to create an account to use Wikiboard, and the site has no ads. Treat yourself to all sorts of brain-boosting goodies like this with the free Cool Tools newsletterstarting with an instant introduction to an incredible audio app thatll tune up your days in truly delightful ways.
Category:
E-Commerce
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