Black Hole Of Real Estate Podcast

The Jobs Report Just Changed The Direction Of The Market... ...and interest rates are dropping faster than at any time this year A ton of news dropped on Friday 9/5/25 regarding the new job report numbers estimates as high as 70,000 new jobs were anticipated the actual number came in at 22,000 jobs created and the market went a little crazy almost immediately if you are considering a home purchase using a mortgage this is really big news as interest rates have dropped noticeably since job creation is down sharply this may be the catalyst for the Fed to finally drop rates for the 1st time in almost a year but they won't be doing it to save the housing market they will do it because new jobs that pay well are a pressure point and with a lack of them available, unemployment figures may climb inflation might also increase despite the Fed's year long fight against it the real news is that no matter how you slice it it's going to lower the monthly payment for most buyers that are buying now watch for the Fed to drop interest rates at their September 16-17 meeting most economists are predicting a .25% drop but my research is showing that the markets have already adjusted rates downward and since the rate drop is already "priced in" I believe that we will actually see a .5% rate drop by the Fed otherwise there will be little or no effect in the days after the meeting listen in to get the details on my data research

Here's Why Some Feel It's Better To Just Rent For 1 More Year... ...and are giving up on buying a home right now Time and Money it always comes down to those 2 things price and value always need to make sense on a BIG purchase and timing is a huge part of any decision for those that are renting right now and have an affordable place to live that works for them they could absolutely be tempted to avoid the time and cost of moving rent + security deposit + moving truck can add up quickly and it can cause a lot of people to feel stuck where they are the question then becomes when will the circumstances ever be 100% perfect to make the big leap? the answer is that its unlikely that things will ever be pefect there is a 1 time pain to own a home and it involves some change, in order to break a cycle of renting despite all of the challenges, there are still some that are focused on buying let's take a deeper look at the true cost of things 1st month rent can be similar to 1st mortgage payment security deposit from your current rental is refunded at move out you may have friends with trucks to avoid the cost of a moving truck you typically don't have a mortgage payment due the 1st month there are a number of scenarions where the cost owning a home is about the same as it costs to rent a home there are still people that believe that you need a 20% down payment to purchase a home with a mortgage when in fact that are a variety of options avaialable with 0%-5% down payments and in many cases, a monthly mortgage payment is similar to renting today's podcast get's down and dirty with the numbers and breaks down the financial impacts of renting vs buying

Mortgage Rates Hit A 10 Month Low... ... even though the Fed hasn't dropped interest rates in 2025 So what is causing this to happen? I have some ideas pent up demand banks pricing in future rate cuts a slowdown in mortgage applications alien intervention The reality may just be 3 of the 4 things above are working at the same time Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell spoke at the Jackson Hole Meeting and intimated that a rate cut may be on the horizon leaving many people to believe that rates will be lowered at the September 16-17 Fed Meeting and if there is a .25% rate drop at that time rates many not drop afterwards as it appears that the market is already pricing that in to rates so it may need to be a .5% rate drop to see further decreases for consumers change is on the horizon It is abundantly clear that there will be a new Fed Chair in early 2026 and its looking like there will 1-2 rate drops between now and the end of the year a lot of home buyers got tired of waiting around for a small change in rates and have moved forward on home purchases at the prevailing rates many plan to refinance down the road while others feel that they may only be in the home for a few years and would rather own than rent today's podcast talks about the dynamics in place for those watching interest rates

If I Was Going To Use An FHA Loan To Buy A Home... ...I would be looking at the 3.5% down option FHA Loans have been around since 1934 They are sometimes called a 1st Time Buyer Loan The fact is that they are available to anyone But with the low down payment it is particularly attractive to 1st timers Sellers are allowed to help the buyers with closing cost assistance which lowers the barrier to make a home purchase most common is a 3% credit that can be used for: closing costs prepaid items such as insurance interest rate buy down lets examine a scenario where the purchase price is $300,000 the down payment would be $10,500 ($300,000 x 3.5%) and if the seller is crediting the buyer 3% of the purchase price at closing $300,000 x 3% = $9,000 credit so the actual $$$ to the seller is $291,000 before they pay commissions/closing costs the buyers lender will do an appraisal and it will need to come in at $300,000 or higher if the appraisal came in lower, such as $295,000 the bank would only be able to lend based on that amount this situation could be resolved in a number of ways: the buyer could pay the $5,000 down payment gap in cash at closing the buyer could ask the seller to lower the price by $5,000 the seller could reduce the price $5,000 and reduce the credit $5,000 they could each contribute toward the $5,000 Listen in to today's show for all the details

If I Was Going To Use A 401k To Buy A Home... ...I would start by learning how much tax would be owed when I take the $$$ out and I would definitely contact your 401k plan admin team for more info I always find it interesting when home buyers tell me that they are going to use their 401k to buy a home It's not that I think that its a bad idea as it can make a lot of sense in the right situation but rather that they have no clue that they will have taxes dues when they take the $$$ out quite often, its a clear case of amnesia when they put $$$ into their 401k it went in before taxes were paid on those earnings check your paystubs if your don't believe me the taxes due are deferred until the $$$ is taken out and when a large sum of $$$ is taken out a shocking amount of $$$ can be due at tax time lets suppose that your are in the 15% tax bracket and you want to take out $100,000 to buy a home $15,000 in tax is due and if the home that you want is $300,000 then $45,000 is due if you take out the full amount if you are a high wage earner in a tax bracket above 30% then you are looking at a tax bill of about 100k that would cause most people some discomfort most 401k plans have a way to take a loan out against your 401k and that can be used for the down payment on a home and a mortgage could be used for the remainder of the $$$ needed that is a strategy that works for many people today's podcast unlocks more tips on what goes into tapping into your 401k

US Home Prices Are Up... ...and so is consumer confidence despite the Fed Stubbornly refusing to lower interest rates The U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) recent report shows that while home prices were down .2% in the month of May but they are up 2.8% between May 2024 and May 2025 Separately, The Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index rose 2 points from 95.2 in June to 97.2 in July all the while the Fed once again refused to lower interest rates at their July meeting interestingly, there were several rate decreases before the Presidential election and zero reductions since that time read into that what you want what all of this means to me is that the bottom hasn't, and won't be, falling out on home prices home values are on track to be up the 3% in 2025 that I predicted here before the start of the year and it we ever see an interest rate reduction it will likely push home values a little higher as home buyers monthly payments become a little lower listen in to today's show for my analysis of what is happening now in these areas

Condotels Are A Vacation Home And A $$$ Maker... ...can be a great 1st time investment property as long as you understand how they work at a super high level they are absolutely different than your typical condo and can cost a lot less than a traditional condo keep in mind that they are almost always cash sales as most bank will not approve a mortgage in a heavy rental building condotels can look and feel a lot like a hotel many of them have a front desk for check in/check out 1 main difference is that each unit is individually owned so renters deal directly with the owners or their property managers for bookings and assistance owners typically spend some time using their condotels during the year and then rent it out when they aren't staying there which for many investors is the perfect situation where the rental income covers most/all of the annual expenses which ends up feeling like they have a free vacation spot as with any short term rental property it's expected to be furnished and fully stocked for guests a handyman and a cleaning person are typically hired to oversee things today's show takes you through the process of purchasing a condotel and leveraging your investment to its maximum income potential

If I Were Selling A Home Today... ...I wouldn't be making any rash decisions with market conditions such that they are buyers are taking longer to make big purchase decisions some are literally frozen in place as they try to comprehend all of the conflicting data they are reading the economy and inflation are certainly adding to the confusion its quite common for people to do nothing in these situations with that said a growing number of people will move forward and buy anyways as their concerns are outweighed by the need to move now short term trends, such as monthly reports are typically too short of a time period to determine meaningful changes we are seeing some up/down reports each month which simply means that the market is trying to find its direction today's podcast gives you my insight into where the market is heading and why