Custom Builder Weekly - Sep 23rd, 2026

AI cameras for ordinance violations | Squatters take over SF mansion | AirBNB commits $250 million to affordable housing

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I was in Austin last week for the New Home Trends Summit, hosted by the team over at John Burns Research and Consulting. Most sessions were aimed at production builders, and a home design panel noted that many features now being integrated come straight from custom homes, including steeper roof pitches, mixed materials, broken rooflines and other details buyers don't expect. That's a compliment, but it also means custom builders have to keep moving, because today's signature detail is tomorrow's subdivision standard.

Our own Women in Residential Construction Conference, online (and free) over two half days next week, has plenty of advice on staying ahead on design and running a tighter firm, from five-year design forecasts and AI tools for design-build firms to what gets indecisive clients moving. Registration details are below.

—Pauline Hammerbeck

Signals: What We're Tracking

Dallas has flagged more than 21,000 properties for ordinance violations using AI cameras mounted on garbage trucks. The system assigns “blight scores” to homes and sends notices to residents on issues like grass height, litter, and dirty chimneys. Read more about the controversial effort.

AirBnB is committing $250 million to affordable housing constrution. The new Housing Accelerator fund will offer low-cost financing to housing projects, starting with $6.4 million toward 201 affordable units in Austin. Insiders say the plan is meant to counter criticism that short-term rentals have exacerbated the affordability issue by tightening up supply. Get the full story.

Squatters have taken over a San Francisco mansion, where a flurry of deed transfers (eight over 13 months) and an under-market-price listing for the property have many thinking a seller impersonation plan is behind the activity. Get more on the ownership fight.

Scientists in Virginia are studying ways to keep solar panels working after dark. The plan is straight out of a sci-fi novel, with the objective to harness the sun's rays and beam the energy from a space satellite to Earth-based solar panels. The goal is to have their first space-based power transmission take place by 2028. Read more.