Custom Builder Weekly - Jun 10th, 2026

Property values in World Cup cities | 5 American-made products | Las Vegas luxury rising

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Summer Rains

I’m writing on standby generator power as a severe storm moves through southeastern Wisconsin, which makes this week's summer Americana theme feel a bit aspirational.

As the country approaches its 250th birthday, our roundup of domestic products looks at American-made sourcing options at a moment when tariffs, lead times, and supply chain disruption are still shaping sourcing decisions.

Our Made to Order series continues this week with a couple who launched their own plunge pool brand after enjoying a winter evening in one in Stowe, Vt.

And a renovation case study takes us inside an 8,500-square-foot Tudor in Washington, D.C., where an existing pool and new pool house were reworked to improve privacy and expand how the space is used.

Sometimes we're just writing over here toward the summer we want.

— Pauline Hammerbeck

Signals: What We're Tracking

Luxury home prices in Las Vegas are up 16.1% year-over-year, ranking the city second in the country. The market has held onto 79% of its pandemic pricing peak, one of a handful of luxury markets that has held onto those gains. [Realtor.com reporting→]

Institutional investors and large operators have delayed or cancelled 6,000 single-family homes amidst regulatory threats. This impacts both build-to-rent and renovation rental strategies, according to Resiclub. In a survey, 80% of respondents said their outlook has worsened over the past six months.

Property values across 2026 World Cup host cities have climbed an average of 44% since the tournament was awarded in 2018. Miami leads all U.S. host markets with house prices increasing by 71.3% since June 2018. See how other U.S. host cities have fared→

A record 33% of household net worth now sits in equities, well above the 27% set during the dot com peak in 2000. Portfolios rose $10.31 trillion from Q4 2024 to Q4 2025, up 18% to $67.77 trillion. Housing prices, by contrast, have not kept pace, according to economist Elliot Eisenberg.