2026 Is Starting to Take Shape

[Rob Bergeron]

There are a few signals lining up right now that are worth paying attention to.

First, housing. There's been plenty of noise this year, but some meaningful indicators are starting to stack in the same direction. The National Association of Realtors is now projecting home sales to jump 14% in 2026. That's a material shift, not a casual forecast tweak. When NAR moves expectations that aggressively, it usually reflects improving affordability conditions, stabilizing rates, and a backlog of buyers who've been waiting for the math to work again.

Along those lines, there’s growing discussion around aggressive housing reform in 2026 and the possibility of a more rate-friendly Federal Reserve chair. Whether every promise lands exactly as stated is less important than the direction of travel. Even incremental declines in mortgage rates have an outsized impact on affordability, and markets tend to react before policy is fully implemented.

Second, jobs and construction. We’re clearly in a transition phase. Traditional office development is down. Certain residential segments have cooled. But AI-driven data center construction is exploding. According to the Wall Street Journal, demand has become so intense that contractors are offering six-figure salaries and perks just to secure enough workers.

This is an important nuance that gets lost in the headlines. Yes, some jobs are being displaced by AI — but they’re being replaced by skilled, high-paying jobs tied to infrastructure, construction, engineering, cooling systems, power, and long-term operations. These aren’t fragile roles. They’re capital-intensive, durable, and they pull entire ecosystems along with them. For states like Kentucky, that matters.

Third, marijuana policy — and this one is quietly huge for Kentucky.

Yesterday, Donald Trump signed an executive order moving marijuana from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III. That change alone acknowledges accepted medical use and removes major barriers to research, education, and institutional participation. Universities can study it more freely. Doctors can engage with it more openly. Businesses face fewer federal dead ends.

For Kentucky specifically, this opens several doors:
• Expanded agricultural opportunity beyond traditional crops
• Growth in medical research and education programs
• Increased legitimacy for hemp-based industries, including hemp concrete
• New paths for farmers and manufacturers to diversify revenue

Kentucky already has deep roots here. If you’re unfamiliar, the story of the Cornbread Mafia out of Lebanon, Kentucky is a fascinating reminder that this state has long been closer to this industry than most people realize. What was once underground now has a legitimate path forward.

Zooming out, the pattern is clear. Office buildings are down. Some housing paused. Data centers are up. Construction wages are rising. Skilled AI-adjacent jobs are expanding. Housing demand is positioning for a rebound. This is what economic rotation looks like in real time — uneven, sometimes uncomfortable, but full of opportunity for people paying attention.

We’re only a few weeks away from a new year.

So the real question isn’t whether 2026 will be “better.” It’s more personal than that.
What do you want to change from this year to next year?
What needs to be adjusted, removed, or doubled down on?
Where can we add a multiplier — skills, assets, systems, or partnerships — that actually compounds?