Realllllly important question we must discuss to be considered diligent and prudent investors. US macros are weakening and we’re seeing a few common themes: over leverage on personal credit (maxed out), unemployment, a hault in manufacturing (a leading indicator), slow down in consumer spending, increase of wealthy people shopping at Walmart (never a good sign). These mechanics in addition to isolated geopolitical events would be irresponsible to ignore. I am in NO WAY saying the sky is falling and run for the hills. We leave emotional decision making for telenovelas. Market corrections happen and I prefer to be pragmatic about them. Now the question: when calculating speculative rent/ sale price of a flip property, is anyone running shock scenarios that include if: rent/sale price was 10%, 15%, 25%, lower? And, if that said property is still a good investment? Let’s discuss this openly and objectively.

Who's getting a DSCR loan? Rates just went down, they're in the 6's !

I am going to work on a YouTube video to go over which of the two presidential candidates would be best for real estate investors! What topics of their policies/actions do you want me to cover? Comment below if I missed one in the poll What they do definitely affects the market and smart to understand what they propose and plan/be prepared accordingly theres no need to make it political, just data and policy driven as possible. Please be polite and keep your politics out of your comments :)

I have been meaning to write this post, but traveling throughout August got in the way. There was a post earlier about Macro factors and whether it is a good time to invest. I will address those concerns in this post, as well as covering an important shift in the RE market that is about to start in September. Alright, so as you all are aware, we have been in a highly inflationary market in the last ~3 years. To battle inflation, instead of limiting money printing and increasing supply, the Feds resort to manipulating the interest rate. Higher inflation --> Higher Rate. High rates are oppressive to gross domestic production GDP, Stock Market and businesses including RE. Think of this as a faucet knob. Lower interest rates = easier way for entrepreneurs to get funding for expansions, workforce and start new businesses, which means higher flow of commercial activities and money shaking hands. By contrast, higher rates means restricting that flow. If you ask me the system is very flawed and interest rates should not be dictated by a centralized planning entity, rather should be dictated by the free market and competition between local banks and lenders. But that is a longer conversation about the feds, inflation, monetary policy and market dynamics that would need a lot longer to discuss. Here is why this is important though and what you should know. *Inflation Rate*: According to the feds inflation has slowed down to 2.9% as of August. Their target is to get on the path toward 2%. If you ask me, the accuracy of the reported data is highly questionable but the general trend here is that inflation rate has slowed down. That means goods and services are not cheaper, but they are increasing in price more slowly. Inflation was reported at 9.1%+ back in June 2022. *Labor Market*: The Feds have a dual mandate. Maintain price stability and steady employment rates. Employment has risen from 3.5% in 2022 to 4.3% now (Frankly it is alot higher because of the inaccurate reports). The department of labor have also adjusted their newly added jobs by 818,000 for the prior 12 months period ending in Mar 2024. That is almost 30% less jobs than what was reported for that period. Layoffs have been frantic and frequent in 2023 and didn't slow by much in 2024. Job market is in trouble and the Feds have known that for a while, but the inflated job number reports have been helping them keep the interest rate higher for longer.

Where do you find most challenging and/or currently struggling the most on the journey of buying your first investment property? Select one or more below.