Real Estate Market Check — August 12, 2026
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The market right now is interesting because we’re not seeing the crash many people predicted—but we’re also nowhere near an easy buying environment.
Mortgage rates are still in the upper-6% range, affordability remains difficult, and transaction volume is weak. At the same time, home prices have remained surprisingly resilient because inventory is still relatively constrained.
For investors, though, there’s a shift worth watching:
Buyers are gaining negotiating power.
Homes are taking longer to sell, inventory has improved, and motivated sellers may be more willing to negotiate on price, credits, repairs, or closing costs.
My biggest takeaway:
I wouldn’t buy a property today that needs appreciation or a future refinance to make the deal work.
The deal should survive today’s interest rate, realistic rents, vacancy, operating expenses, and a reasonable downside scenario.
This feels less like a market where you wait for everything to get cheap—and more like one where disciplined investors hunt for individual opportunities.
For those actively buying right now: Are you finding better deals, or are sellers in your market still holding firm?
Most Popular Reply
I think the point about making the property work under today's numbers is especially important for rental investors.
One additional exercise I'd suggest before buying is analyzing the property and the financing together rather than treating them as two separate decisions. Look at realistic market rent, projected payment, taxes, insurance, vacancy and reserves, and then stress-test what happens if the assumptions aren't quite as favorable as expected.
It can also be worthwhile to compare financing structures rather than automatically choosing the one with the lowest initial rate. For an investor, preserving liquidity and maintaining adequate reserves for the next opportunity can sometimes be just as important as minimizing the payment on this one.
The financing should complement the investment strategy rather than requiring appreciation or a future refinance to rescue the deal.
One area that I am seeing a tremendous cash flow positive return is in Vermont. If interested in learning more, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.