Warren Buffett's successor Greg Abel is spending billions on homebuilder Lennar

Berkshire Hathaway, the major holding company previously championed by Warren Buffett, has made its third major investment in the U.S. homebuilding sector this year. The company increased its stake in Lennar, America's second largest homebuilder, by 94 percent in the third quarter, according to an SEC filing from last week. With this addition, Berkshire's holdings of Lennar have jumped more than threefold since the beginning of 2026, housing analytics research firm ResiClub found. Buffett's successor, Greg Abel, has called the move a long-term investment in the homebuilding industry. The Lennar investment is just the latest of several bets Abel has made on U.S. homebuilders since taking over the CEO position from Buffett in January. On May 31, Berkshire announced it was acquiring America's sixth-largest homebuilder, Taylor Morrison. After the latest purchases, Berkshire Hathaway owns around 11 percent of Lennar, according to SEC filings. Lennar shares have been easy to buy, as it has been one of Wall Street's most sold-off homebuyer stocks in recent years. The company's stock finished the third quarter down 49.7 percent from its October 2024 high. ResiClub CEO Lance Lambert suggests that part of the reason for Lennar's struggle is its heavy presence in entry-level Sun Belt markets, which have been significantly affected by the cooling since the pandemic-era housing boom. To keep sales from falling further and keep property moving, Lennar has been among the most aggressive builders in cutting net effective prices. When making the choice to invest in Taylor Morrison and other homebuilders, Abel was aware that he needed to look beyond the current weakness of the homebuilding sector, he said on a visit to CNBC's Squawk Box on September 2. "When we looked at housing and housing specifically in North America, we were taking a very long-term view, that American dream will continue to exist," he said. For your business, watching the giants move into real estate tells you where the big money sees the floor in the market. Even when the road is bumpy, the long-term builders are stepping in.