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Housing affordability often gets reduced to a few familiar factors: home prices, mortgage rates, construction costs and household income. But Jay Knight believes the conversation needs to start much earlier, with the rules that determine what developers can build in the first place. Jay Knight, a housing advocate and developer, joined host Carol Morgan on Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio to discuss his new book, “Zoned Out: How Cities and Counties Make Homes Unaffordable.” The book examines how zoning, land-use regulations, permitting requirements and development standards can increase costs and limit housing choices. At the heart of Knight's argument is a simple question: What does an affordable home actually mean? Defining Affordable Housing The term “affordable” means different things to different people. For Knight, the concept is practical: A home should be affordable enough for a municipal employee to purchase using only their own salary. That includes teachers, police officers, firefighters and nurses, as well as workers in similar income ranges. What does that translate to? Knight believes the industry could produce a home for approximately $225,000 with 1,100 square feet, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, no garage and a 35-foot detached lot. The home would not offer every feature found in today's larger new homes, but it could provide something increasingly difficult to find: an opportunity for a working household to become a homeowner. “That's what ‘Zoned Out’ is for,” Knight said. “It's to explain that homes are not expensive because builders will only build big, expensive homes on big, expensive lots. They're expensive because the municipalities will only allow us to build big, expensive homes on big, expensive lots.” How Zoning Can Drive Up the Cost of a Home Zoning codes establish minimum lot sizes, density requirements and other development standards. But the written code often represents only the beginning of the process. Consider a hypothetical 100-acre property designated for two homes per acre. On paper, that could mean 200 homes. In practice, buffers, roads, stormwater infrastructure and other requirements can significantly shrink the usable acreage. Once a municipality calculates density based on the remaining land, minimum lot sizes can further limit the number of homes a developer can build. A property that initially appears capable of supporting 200 lots could end up supporting only 140. That change does not simply affect the number of homes. It increases the land cost assigned to every remaining lot. That additional cost eventually moves through the development and construction process and reaches the home buyer. Lot dimensions can create another layer of expense. A 60-foot lot could cost roughly $100,000, while increasing the width to 70 feet could add another $10,000. Once the developer and builder account for their own costs and margins, that seemingly small change could add $16,000 to $20,000 to the final price of a home. The result illustrates Knight's broader point: Small decisions made early in the development process can have a significant impact on the price a buyer ultimately pays. Small Regulatory Changes Can Have a Big Affordability Impact The impact becomes even more significant when those costs affect a buyer's ability to qualify for a mortgage. Using National Association of Home Builders data and extrapolating it to Georgia, Knight estimates that every $1,000 increase in a home's price could cause roughly 4,100 Georgians to no longer qualify for that home. At $15,000, that increase could potentially put a home out of reach for approximately 60,000 Georgians. What Happened to Missing Middle Housing? Older neighborhoods often included a mix of housing types, from larger homes and smaller single-family houses to apartments, townhomes and other forms of “missing middle” housing. Modern zoning frequently separates those housing types into different districts. That division can limit housing options within a neighborhood and contribute to socioeconomic segregation, which separates people into different neighborhoods based on class and wealth. A home that sold for $380,000 a few years ago may sit next to a new home that costs $800,000 today. When regulations require new homes to match the size, lot dimensions and features of more expensive existing homes, the community can lose the ability to introduce more attainable homes. That does not necessarily reflect a lack of demand for smaller or less expensive homes. Instead, the rules may prevent developers from building them. Moving From Housing Problems to Housing Solutions ‘Zoned Out’ does more than identify challenges. Knight also outlines potential solutions, including reforms that could make the development process more predictable and bring lots to market faster. The Georgia Residential Land Development Council, which Knight helped form, recently worked on land disturbance permit reform. The effort took about 15 months and required legislative support, but the result was an important step toward reducing development costs and increasing the supply of buildable lots. More lots reaching the market could create downward pressure on land prices, which could help builders produce more attainable homes. Knight also advocates for by-right zoning, which would allow a development that complies with an adopted future land-use plan to move forward without another lengthy and uncertain zoning process. This approach could give developers more certainty while allowing municipalities to establish standards through their comprehensive planning process. Rethinking the Rules Behind Housing Affordability At its core, “Zoned Out” asks communities to look beyond the final price of a home and examine the decisions that shape it. Minimum lot sizes, density calculations, development requirements, mandated amenities, design standards and lengthy approval processes can each add costs. Together, they can make attainable housing increasingly difficult to build. The solution starts with recognizing that the current system does not have to remain the status quo. “It doesn't have to be this way,” Knight said. “It's just changing our mind.” That message extends beyond builders and developers. It challenges planners, elected officials and communities to consider how local decisions affect the people who live and work there. As the cost of housing continues to shape conversations across metro Atlanta and the country, Zoned Out offers another way to look at the problem: Before asking why homes cost so much, communities may need to examine what their rules allow the industry to build. Explore the Ideas Behind “Zoned Out” “Zoned Out: How Cities and Counties Make Homes Unaffordable” is available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats, with audio and hardcover editions planned for a later release. For more insights from Knight on zoning, land development, permitting reform and the future of housing affordability, check out this recent Radio episode. For more information about the Georgia Residential Land Development Council, visit GRLDC.org. About GRLDC The Georgia Residential Land Development Council (GRLDC) is a coalition of leading developers, builders and industry stakeholders dedicated to improving land development and permitting processes across Georgia. The organization advocates for policies that increase housing supply, streamline regulations and promote responsible growth. By working collaboratively with policymakers and industry partners, GRLDC advances solutions that help ensure Georgia can meet current and future housing demand. Podcast Thanks Thank you to Denim Marketing for sponsoring Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio. Known as a trendsetter, Denim Marketing has been blogging since 2006 and podcasting since 2011. Contact them when you need quality, original content for social media, public relations, blogging, email marketing and promotions. A comfortable fit for companies of all shapes and sizes, Denim Marketing understands marketing strategies are not one-size-fits-all. The agency works with your company to create a perfectly tailored marketing strategy that will suit your needs and niche. Try Denim Marketing on for size by calling 770-383-3360 or by visiting www.DenimMarketing.com. About Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio, presented by Denim Marketing, highlights the movers and shakers in the Atlanta real estate industry – the home builders, developers, Realtors and suppliers working to provide the American dream for Atlantans. For more information on how you can be featured as a guest, contact Denim Marketing at 770-383-3360 or fill out the Atlanta Real Estate Forum contact form. Subscribe to the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcast on iTunes, and if you like this week's show, be sure to rate it. Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio was recently honored on FeedSpot's Top 100 Atlanta Podcasts, ranking 11th overall and number one out of all ranked real estate podcasts. The post Jay Knight's ‘Zoned Out' Examines the Hidden Costs of Housing appeared first on Atlanta Real Estate Forum.
Builders are struggling to survive, let alone sell homes, in 2026. Prices aren't keeping pace, home sales are falling, and nobody can find the labor to build the houses in the first place. With concessions rising, buyers who stayed in the market are getting great deals. With the potential to boomerang back to regional undersupplied housing markets, the deals may very well be worth it. It's a new week, with new headlines that affect anyone buying, selling, or building wealth with real estate. First, we'll touch on the 300,000 vacant lots for sale. With the price of dirt down far below where it was just a few years ago, those with development and building ambitions could stand to profit, but with the entire homebuilding industry struggling, how long will you have to wait? Washington is trying to investigate “private listings” from real estate brokerages, but could they actually be hurting the seller by removing the exclusivity agents are going for? Finally, an update on home sales, prices, and why Kathy is seeing a big uptick in investor buyers for a certain type of rental property. In This Episode We Cover The land sale happening this summer and a sign of just how bad our housing shortage is Builders get squeezed as buyers (and even laborers) refuse to budge The newest threat to “private” home listings that could hurt sales prices The homes that are taking the longest to sell in 2026 and one type of rental property that investors are getting steals on And So Much More! Links from the Show Join the Future of Real Estate Investing with Fundrise Join BiggerPockets for FREE Join us at the BiggerPockets Conference October 2-4 in Orlando. Buy tickets Sign Up for the Investor Brief Newsletter Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area Major Homebuilders Have Not Sold Homes This Cheap in Nearly a Decade—Here's How Investors Can Take Advantage Henry's BiggerPockets Profile James' BiggerPockets Profile Kathy's BiggerPockets Profile PR Newswire: More than 300,000 empty lots for sale could close America's housing shortage by 6% NBC 24: Construction job openings rise as overall job openings soften slightly HousingWire: The off-MLS debate moves to Washington, and agents need a clear script Newsweek: America's New Home Sales Plummet to Weakest Rate in Years Grab Henry's Book, Real Estate Deal Maker Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/on-the-market-454. Interested in learning more about today's sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
First up, independent analysis from Tim Watkin around the fallout from the National party's leadership challenge. Where does National go from here? Then, the story of the family social support service, Homebuilders. Based in Walkworth and after 37 years it is closing due to 60 percent of its government funding being pulled.
In this episode of the Elevate Podcast, Penny Thomson and Dr Terri-Ann Berry of the Environmental Innovation Centre explain why just under 70% of everything going to New Zealand landfills comes from construction. They introduce the WasteHub, a free online resource where builders can identify the plastics on their site, find a local recycler, check supplier takeback options, and set up for better separation.They are also honest about the money. Their study of an eight lot housing site found sustainable waste management added around $1,400 per home while diverting 84% of waste by weight. Penny and Terri-Ann also cover greenwashing and introduce Circular Path, a new certification launching late 2026 for smaller builders.Useful links:wastehub.co.nzenvironmental-innovation.nzWhere else you can find usWebsite: https://www.masterbuilder.org.nz/Elevate Platform: http://elevate.masterbuilder.org.nzInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/masterbuildernz/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/registeredmasterbuildersYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmh_9vl0pFf0zSB6N7RrVeg
In this episode of the WB Download, host Jeff Wieland, President of Wieland Builders, welcomes Carmen Hickerson, Executive Officer of the Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati, for an insightful conversation about the people and advocacy behind the home building industry.Carmen shares her journey from growing up in Northern Kentucky to leading one of the region's most influential industry associations. Drawing on her background in public relations, public policy, and association leadership, she discusses what it takes to advocate for builders, educate elected officials, and strengthen the voice of the residential construction industry.Jeff and Carmen explore why advocacy matters at the local, state, and national levels, how coalitions with other industries help advance housing initiatives, and why it's critical for builders to have representation when decisions affecting housing and development are made. They also discuss the value of trade association membership, member engagement, leadership development, and the importance of networking within the industry.The conversation also takes a behind-the-scenes look at Homearama, Greater Cincinnati's premier new home showcase. Carmen explains how host communities are selected, what builders invest to participate, and why Homearama continues to inspire homeowners while driving economic development throughout the region. Jeff and Carmen discuss this year's exciting event, the variety of homes on display, and the lasting impact custom home building has on communities.Whether you're a builder, industry professional, homeowner, or simply interested in what goes into creating thriving neighborhoods, this episode offers valuable insight into the leadership, collaboration, and advocacy that help shape the future of home building.Topics Covered:Carmen Hickerson's path to leading the Home Builders AssociationWhy advocacy is essential for the home building industryEducating policymakers and building industry coalitionsThe value of trade association membershipLeadership, volunteerism, and member engagementBehind the scenes of HomearamaThe economic and community impact of residential constructionThe future of housing and industry advocacyTune in for an engaging conversation about the work happening behind the scenes to support builders, strengthen communities, and advance the future of home building.Email Jeff your comments, questions, and topic requests, or be a guest on The WB Download.Email: WBDOWNLOAD@wielandbuilders.comHome Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati websiteHomearama 2026 show information and ticketsSee Wieland Builders custom home gallery www.wielandbuilders.comReceive inspiration monthly in our monthly newsletter See podcast behind the scenes photosFollow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Houzz , LinkedIn or Pinterest
You are listening to a presentation given at the 2026 Michigan Conference Campmeeting held at Great Lakes Adventist Academy. We pray you will be blessed!
Homebuilders are testing AI-native platforms to accelerate land acquisition by consolidating parcel data, ownership records, zoning codes, risk layers, and market signals into a single workflow. Large language models extract zoning rules into structured fields, and computer vision analyzes aerial imagery to infer slope, vegetation, and access points. Public data from FEMA, USGS, NOAA, and EPA combines with commercial sources such as Esri, Regrid, EagleView, Nearmap, and Maxar. Builders layer demand signals from providers like Zonda, CoreLogic, and Realtor.com to prioritize sites. Adoption includes national builders and land developers, while lenders and land bankers add entitlement tracking dashboards. Buyers require audit trails, data provenance, and compliance with licensing and privacy laws, and they favor integrations with Salesforce, Procore, NewStar, and Excel that show measurable reductions in dead-deal costs and faster screening throughput.Learn more on this news by visiting us at: https://greyjournal.net/news/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Netflix Is Struggling to Stay on Top…. and the Stock Reflects It For years, Netflix has been the dominant force in streaming, consistently taking market share from its competitors. However, recent data suggests the competition is beginning to chip away at that lead. Netflix reported earnings last week, and the results showed a company that is executing well. Profits continue to grow, customer cancellations remain among the lowest in the industry, and the company is still producing blockbuster franchises like Bridgerton and Stranger Things that attract millions of viewers. The concern in the report wasn't profitability, it was engagement. Viewer engagement measures how much time subscribers spend watching content and how often they complete a movie or series. The more engaged customers are, the less likely they are to cancel their subscription in favor of another streaming service. That's why this metric is so important. Netflix still accounted for 7.8% of total TV viewing in April, making it the largest subscription streaming platform. However, that was its lowest share since May 2025, suggesting competitors are gradually gaining ground. The stock has reflected those concerns, declining roughly 40% over the past year despite continued earnings growth. I've always liked what Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings had to say as he frequently emphasized the importance of staying focused and keeping the business simple. That's a philosophy that has served our investment firm well over the years. Now, with increasing competition from Disney, HBO Max, YouTube, and others, Netflix is reportedly exploring additional subscription offerings similar to what Amazon and Apple provide. Personally, I think that would be a mistake. At this year's Emmy Awards, Netflix earned 111 nominations. Instead of expanding into new subscription services, why not invest even more heavily in creating award-winning shows and movies? If they produced enough quality content to earn 120 or even 130 Emmy nominations next year, subscriber engagement would likely take care of itself. Sometimes the best strategy isn't to do more, it's to do one thing exceptionally well. What do you think? Have you canceled or considered canceling your Netflix subscription? Or do you still believe Netflix offers the best streaming service? U.S. oil supplies are falling to concerning levels U.S. oil inventories have fallen to levels that should be a concern. The current U.S. oil stockpile is just under 410 million barrels. On a seasonal basis, we have not seen inventories this low since 2018. The seasonal comparison is important because summer is one of the highest-consumption periods of the year. The U.S. consumes about 20.6 million barrels of oil per day, produces approximately 13.9 million barrels per day, and relies on imports for roughly 7 million barrels per day. At the same time, the United States exports about 4 million barrels of oil per day, likely because companies can receive higher prices for that oil in international markets. If we somehow stopped producing and importing oil entirely, the current commercial stockpile would last roughly 20 days. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which has been reduced to approximately 317 million barrels, is also at its lowest level since 1983. At current consumption rates, that reserve would represent roughly 15 days of consumption. Replenishing U.S. oil inventories to higher levels could take many months or even years. Now with WTI oil around $90 a barrel that higher price could actually be a good thing. You may be wondering why I would say that, especially since higher oil prices often mean higher gas prices at the pump, but higher gas prices may encourage consumers and businesses to reduce their energy consumption. A lower consumption rate could help slow the decline in inventories and give the U.S. a chance to rebuild its oil supplies. Over the last six months, have you found yourself reducing your energy usage? And do you plan to reduce your consumption going forward? Banks Had a Great Quarter, Is It Time to Invest? Last week, the banks reported financial results that topped estimates for both earnings and revenue. They also showed improved efficiency as expenses declined as a percentage of revenue. After such a strong quarter, you might think the coast is clear and it's time to invest in the banking sector. For the cautious investor, however, it's important to look at the other side of the coin. I'm not expecting the banks to fall dramatically but returns going forward could be more muted because of several factors. First, there is net interest margin, which measures the difference between what a bank earns on its assets and what it pays depositors and debt holders to borrow money. Banks now have very large balance sheets, so even if net interest margins decline, the dollar amount of profits can remain substantial. However, further pressure on margins could still become a headwind for future earnings growth. There are also other risks for conservative investors to consider. The ongoing situation with Iran could create additional uncertainty. The AI boom could experience a rough patch, and while the economy and labor markets appear strong right now, investors cannot ignore the possibility of an economic slowdown. Rising interest rates could also prove difficult for banks if rates move significantly higher from current levels, potentially putting pressure on their profit margins. The good news is that bank valuations are not excessively high, which could help limit the downside risk in the event of a market pullback. To be clear, we are not anticipating a major decline in the banks we hold in our portfolio. However, investors should make sure the banks they own have very strong balance sheets. Strong capital positions and manageable debt can help reduce downside risk if the economic environment becomes more challenging. A strong quarter is certainly a positive sign for the banks, but investors should remember that great earnings today do not always guarantee great returns tomorrow. Valuation, balance-sheet strength, and the economic environment will all play an important role in determining future returns. Are new homes actually a better deal than existing homes? There is an interesting trend developing in the housing market: the median price of a newly built home is now lower than the median price of an existing home. Historically there has been about a 20% premium for new homes. At first, that sounds surprising. New homes are typically more expensive, so how can they now be cheaper? One major reason is that the type of new homes being built and sold has changed. Builders are increasingly focusing on smaller homes, townhomes, and more affordable developments. Townhouses now account for about one in five new single-family homes, which is the highest share since the National Association of Home Builders began tracking the data in 1985. In many cases developers are focusing on attainable homes for the middle-class which means the homes are roughly 1,200 to 2,000 square feet on smaller lots. As a result, the median price of a new home can look lower than the median price of an existing home, even though that doesn't necessarily always mean buyers are getting more house for their money. In other words, the comparison isn't always apples to apples. A new townhome or smaller home may have a lower price than an older, larger single-family home. That can make new construction appear to be a better deal, but buyers need to carefully consider what they are actually comparing. There are some real advantages to buying new. Builders are offering incentives such as mortgage-rate buydowns and assistance with closing costs. These lower rates make the monthly payment lower and more achievable than a comparable existing home. New homes typically require less maintenance, come with modern finishes and new appliances, are more energy efficient, and often come with warranties. But there are risks and a big one many people may not consider is lower resale value. Many of these new home developments only provide a handful of floorplans and they are built on a smaller parcel of land, which leads to less distinctive homes. If you go to sell your home within a few years, you may also be competing against the homebuilder if new homes are still being built in the community. The bottom line: new homes may offer some of the best deals in the housing market right now, but buyers need to look beyond the headline numbers. Compare the size, location, price per square foot, HOA fees, upgrades, and the total monthly cost. A new home may be a better deal than an existing home, but make sure you understand exactly what you are getting for your money. Stock Trading Is Off the Charts! There is a frenzy happening in the stock market right now. With individuals buying and selling stocks, along with institutional investors constantly trading, Wall Street is generating enormous trading fees. But one has to ask the question: Does all of this activity make sense? U.S. average daily trading volume in equities and options hit a record in the second quarter, with 73 million options contracts and 20 billion shares traded. Think about that number for a minute: 20 billion shares of stock changing hands over just three months. Let that sink in. We have not seen this much activity in individual stocks since the end of the dot-com bubble, and we all know how that turned out. The good news is that, with this frenzy of stock trading, more people are beginning to seek professional help managing their portfolios. The bad news is that many brokers are really just salespeople who may not have a strong investment philosophy or truly understand what they are doing. They will simply ride the wave until the crash comes, just as happened at the end of the tech bust. Back then, even a year after the market had collapsed, some brokers were still telling their clients to stay invested because the market would eventually come back. I remember an old saying I learned when I first entered the industry: “The broker knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” It took the Nasdaq more than 15 years to get back to breakeven after the dot-com bubble burst when it fell close to 80% from top to bottom. That is why it is so important, when seeking financial advice, to understand the investment philosophy of the broker or investment adviser you are working with. Does their philosophy make sense to you? Does it align with your goals? And, most importantly, does it make sense for your portfolio? When markets are rising and everyone is making money, almost any strategy can look brilliant. The real test is what happens when the frenzy ends. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! A recent story in Barron's highlights a warning that applies to everyone, not just professional athletes. Several current and former professional athletes reportedly invested in an online business opportunity that sounded too good to be true. Three former NFL players were interviewed by Barron's and collectively they said they lost more than $1 million. The pitch was simple: invest at least $50,000 in an online store and they'll handle everything from social-media marketing to manufacturing store inventory. Investors were told they would get their original investment back within six months, and then receive 80% of the profits. Sounds like a great deal, right? Unfortunately, according to the investigation, it appears the sales weren't real. The stores were built using Shopify and appeared to be generating significant revenue. But investigators reportedly found questionable orders, including one $5,000 order for 100 desktop humidifiers and 120 USB-powered cup warmers. The person at the shipping address said they never placed the order and “Who needs 100 humidifiers and 120 cup warmers?” There were also other red flags including one e-commerce site, Dailyprodtrend, doesn't appear in Google search results and the web address is just a random string of numbers and letters. The scheme is run by a 24-year-old entrepreneur named Mohamed Coulibaly and to gain credibility he used celebrity connections citing the names of about two dozen current and former pro athletes and other public figures as clients in a pitch deck. He also has created an image of wealth and success with one athlete saying he saw what appeared to be $25 million in a business account that Coulibaly showed him on a cellphone screen. It's important to remember that no matter how successful someone appears or how many famous people they know you still need to do your own due diligence. A big problem is the websites were just the beginning of what appears to be a longer con. Once investors had their Shopify login credentials, they were given the impression the business was healthy due to these “fake” orders and then were presented with an even bigger bet that involved the Dubai investment firm Middle East Venture Partners. Unfortunately, this appears to have led to more red flags and still no return on investment. Before investing, you should independently verify the revenue, customers, expenses, bank statements, contracts, and the actual business itself. Don't simply rely on an online dashboard or someone else's claims about how much money is being made. The bottom line: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And the more exciting and guaranteed the opportunity sounds, the more skeptical you should become. Financial Planning: Conservation Easements: Valuable Planning Tool or Tax Trap? Conservation easements are a tax planning strategy that allows a landowner to permanently donate certain development rights to a qualified conservation organization in exchange for a charitable income tax deduction equal to the reduction in the property's value. When used as Congress intended, they can provide meaningful tax benefits while preserving land for future generations. For example, a family that owns a 1,000-acre ranch valued at $10 million may have no intention of developing the property and want to ensure it remains open space permanently. By donating a conservation easement that limits future development, the property value may decline to $6 million, creating a $4 million charitable deduction while allowing the family to continue owning and using the land. This type of transaction aligns with the purpose of the law because the conservation benefit is the primary goal and the tax deduction is an incentive. However, taxpayers should be cautious of strategies that appear too good to be true. In recent years, the IRS has aggressively challenged syndicated conservation easement transactions that were marketed primarily as tax shelters. In these arrangements, investors often contributed a relatively small amount of capital to a partnership that acquired land, and promoters claimed the donation of a conservation easement created deductions several times larger than the investors' original contribution. For example, an investor might contribute $250,000 and be promised a $1 million charitable deduction based on an aggressive property valuation. Many of these transactions relied on inflated appraisals and lacked a genuine conservation purpose, resulting in significant IRS scrutiny, disallowed deductions, penalties, and litigation. While conservation easements can be used in specific situations, they should be approached with caution and used only when there is a legitimate conservation objective. As with many tax strategies, a benefit that appears disproportionately large compared to the underlying economic activity is often a warning sign that additional due diligence is needed. Are Porsche Cars Losing Their Excitement? Porsche cars have long been known for their high-end, exciting sports cars. But lately, the company has been losing sales compared with last year. Porsche faces plenty of competition, but its global deliveries were down 16% during the first six months of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Last year, the company benefited from strong demand for the electric Macan, while it also ended production of the gasoline-powered 718. The company was also hurt by the loss of U.S. tax incentives for electric vehicles, which contributed to the decline in sales. Porsche sold 37,712 vehicles in North America, a 13% decline from last year. China, which accounts for roughly 10% of Porsche's sales, saw an even larger drop, with sales falling 32% to 14,501 vehicles. The price of a Porsche starts at around $65,000, but the average transaction price is closer to $125,000. And if you know anything about these cars, you also know that the maintenance and upkeep can put significant pressure on your wallet. You would think that if you're spending $125,000 on a car, you shouldn't have to spend a fortune maintaining it. But that can be part of the trade-off when owning a high-performance luxury vehicle. So, are Porsche cars losing some of their excitement? Would you be willing to spend $125,000 on a new Porsche, or would you rather purchase a less expensive American car? Time to Say Goodbye to EV Car Maker Polestar? I would occasionally see Polestar vehicles on the road, and I believe the company even has a dealership at UTC Mall. However, I didn't know much about the company and was surprised to learn just how complicated its ownership structure is. Polestar is closely tied to Volvo, which is 79% owned by the Chinese company Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. The automotive world has become incredibly complicated over the years. I always thought of Volvo as a Swedish company, but that is no longer technically the case. The ownership change began in March 1999, when Ford Motor Company paid $6.5 billion to acquire Volvo. However, Ford later sold 79% of Volvo to Geely in August 2010 for approximately $1.8 billion. The remaining 21% is publicly owned through stock ownership. In other words, Ford appears to have taken a significant loss on its investment. Now, Polestar is facing serious challenges in the United States. The U.S. government is concerned about the company's connection to China and the possibility that data collected by the vehicles could be accessed by the Chinese government. As a result, new Polestar vehicles are no longer expected to be sold in the U.S. What is strange, however, is that Volvo vehicles are still being sold in the United States, even though Volvo is also majority-owned by Geely. The situation shows just how complicated the relationship between the U.S. auto market and Chinese ownership has become. There are currently reports of fire-sale discounts on Polestar vehicles, with some discounts reportedly reaching as much as $25,000 just to move the cars. These vehicles originally sold for roughly $55,000 to $75,000 when new. I'm not sure who would want to purchase one at this point. The biggest concern may not even be the vehicle itself, but what happens to service and support for existing owners. It is possible that Volvo will continue servicing Polestar vehicles, but I would be skeptical about whether maintaining a separate service infrastructure for the brand will be worth the company's time. After all, relations between the United States and China are currently far from ideal. For Polestar owners, that could create some serious questions about the future of their vehicles. The New Tobacco Companies The three remaining major players in the tobacco industry are Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, and Altria Group. It should come as no surprise that the number of cigarettes sold in North America has dropped by about 33% since 2020, while the number of tobacco smokers continues to decline rapidly. But don't be fooled: Tobacco companies have developed smoke-free products that are gaining popularity, but that does not mean they are healthy. The two primary alternatives tobacco companies are now selling are vaping products and something called an oral nicotine pouch. It is easy to see when someone is vaping because of the large clouds of vapor produced. Nicotine pouches, however, are much less noticeable. They are placed between the front of your teeth and your lip, similar to chewing tobacco. The difference is that you don't need to spit out saliva every few minutes because the nicotine is slowly released into your system. Currently, in North America, about 7% of the population vapes, up from 3.7% in 2020. Nicotine pouches are also growing rapidly, although you can't see who is using them. In 2024, approximately 23 billion nicotine pouches were sold worldwide, a 50% increase from 2023. Make no mistake: Both of these products contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and keeps people coming back for more. Some may believe that nicotine pouches are simply a way to move away from cigarettes, but that isn't necessarily the case. The pouch itself can become addictive as well. Tobacco stocks have performed well, with some nearly doubling over the last few years. More institutional investors who previously dumped these stocks for ethical reasons are now returning because of the growth of smoke-free products. It all sounds like smoke and mirrors to me. There are simply too many issues surrounding nicotine and the addictive nature of these smokeless products for me to feel comfortable investing in the tobacco industry. Companies Discussed: Fiserv, Inc. (Ticker: FISV)
Berkshire Hathaway is expanding its homebuilding empire with another acquisition, this time adding McGuinn Homes to its growing portfolio. Kathy Fettke explains why Warren Buffett's company is doubling down on site-built and build-to-rent housing, what it signals about the future of the housing market, and why real estate investors should be paying attention. Learn more at www.Realwealth.com/Syndications Source: https://www.resiclubanalytics.com/p/warren-buffett-heir-buys-homebuilder-mcguin-berkshire-hathaway-clayton-homes
To watch a video version of this podcast, click here: https://youtu.be/FFgBErKxCHs In this episode, Reuben Saltzman and Tessa Murry tackle a question that's becoming increasingly common in the home inspection industry: Should home inspectors report cosmetic defects in new construction homes? From nail pops and scuff marks to drywall imperfections, they explore the growing expectations of homebuyers, the role of inspection standards, and whether inspectors should adapt their services to meet changing consumer demands. They also discuss builder performance guidelines, the balance between cosmetic concerns and material defects, and why this conversation could shape the future of new construction inspections TakeawaysHomebuyers are placing greater emphasis on cosmetic imperfections in new construction homes.Home inspectors must balance identifying material defects while managing client expectations.Cosmetic issues such as nail pops, scuffs, and minor drywall imperfections are becoming a frequent source of concern.Some inspection companies heavily document cosmetic defects, while others focus primarily on safety, performance, and structural issues.Inspectors should clearly communicate the scope and limitations of a home inspection before beginning.Industry standards of practice generally prioritize material defects over cosmetic concerns.The National Association of Home Builders' Residential Construction Performance Guidelines provide useful benchmarks for evaluating workmanship.Performance guidelines distinguish between acceptable cosmetic imperfections and warrantable defects.Many cosmetic defects are only considered excessive when visible under normal lighting from approximately six feet away.Builders may have their own warranty standards, making expectations vary from one company to another.Cosmetic walkthroughs could become an additional service offering, though they require significantly more inspection time.Thorough inspections should continue to prioritize issues affecting safety, functionality, durability, and performance.Client expectations continue to evolve, and inspection companies may need to adapt their services accordingly.Listening to feedback and analyzing recurring client concerns can help improve inspection processes.Ongoing conversations with builders and inspectors are essential for developing practical industry standards around cosmetic reporting.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Personal Updates04:19 Why Cosmetic Defects Are Becoming a Bigger Issue06:22 Comparing Home Inspection Reports on New Construction10:10 What Do Homebuyers Really Expect?12:09 Existing Standards and Builder Performance Guidelines17:10 Minnesota Statutes and Builder Responsibilities20:33 Understanding Cosmetic Performance Standards25:00 Builder Guidelines vs. Home Inspection Standards27:18 Should Inspectors Document Cosmetic Defects?31:27 Where Should Inspectors Draw the Line?35:30 Meeting Client Expectations Without Expanding Scope37:34 Looking Ahead: Continuing the Conversation
In this episode of the Elevate Podcast, Nathan Hall of Navigation Homes talks about the Mauku project that earned them a spot in the Master Builders House of the Year 2025 Top 100, taking home National Category Winner and Regional Gold. Nathan shares what made this rural build stand out, from the material choices and detailing to a last-minute patio fix that nearly didn't happen.Nathan also explains why entering the awards year after year is less about trophies and more about holding the team to a standard. A practical and honest conversation for any builder thinking about putting their work on the line.Useful links:navigationhomes.co.nzHouse of the Year entryWhere else you can find usWebsite: https://www.masterbuilder.org.nz/Elevate Platform: http://elevate.masterbuilder.org.nzInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/masterbuildernz/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/registeredmasterbuildersYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmh_9vl0pFf0zSB6N7RrVeg
More families are experiencing the Boomerang Generation phenomenon, with adult children moving back home because of housing costs, student debt, career changes, or other life events. Before saying "yes," parents should understand the financial, legal, and retirement planning implications. Richard Rosso & Jonathan McCarty discuss how you can protect your retirement while helping your adult children, including household expenses, setting boundaries, estate planning considerations, and knowing when financial support helps—or hurts. Whether your adult children are moving back temporarily or never left the nest, having a clear plan can preserve both your finances and your family relationships. Subscribe for more insights on retirement planning, investing, personal finance, Social Security, and building long-term financial security. 0:00 INTRO 0:24 - McCarty's Contaminated Gasoline Tale 1:45 - Texas Stock Exchange Opens 3:35 - The Boomerang Generation - why is it happening? 6:00 - Where Younger Generations Want to Live & Financial Independence 9:57 - The Long Term Care Crisis Impact on Children 14:03 - Homebuilders' Response to Shifting Trends (Tiny Homes) 16:35 - Dealing with Lifestyle Creep 18:14 - Planning for Multi-family Living 20:34 - The Associated Costs of Moving Back Home 23:55 - Planning Pragmatically - Defining Purpose and Process 28:14 - Financial Expectations - Spending Tomorrow's Money 30:06 - Empty-nesting again 32:39 - Establishing Household Ground Rules 36:05 - The Long Term Care Dilemma & Care Giving 38:28 - Importance of Reviewing Insurance Needs - What to do with the Stuff 40:22 - Dealing with Tax Implications (Gifting, Home Purchases, etc) 42:01 - The Sibling Imbalances (Roth Conversions) 47:30 - What's the Exit Strategy; Lawnmowers & Socks 50:20 - The Emotional Impacts of Cohabitation 54:04 - Narrative Busters Tease - The Space-X Narrative, AI Hosted by RIA Advisors Director of Financial Planning, Richard Rosso, CFP, w Senior Investment Advisor, Jonathan McCarty, CFP Produced by Brent Clanton, Executive Producer ------- Do you enjoy our content? Rate us on Google: https://bit.ly/4b9JtEo ------- Watch Today's Full Video on our YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/live/gXj-QntdhK0?feature=share ------- Watch our previous show, "Q&A Wednesday" https://youtube.com/live/ua-paCoNRwo?feature=share ------- Articles mentioned in this report: "Margin Debt Risk: The Ratios That Mislead Investors," https://realinvestmentadvice.com/resources/blog/margin-debt-risk-the-ratios-that-mislead-investors/ "Wage Growth As A Leading Inflation Indicator" https://realinvestmentadvice.com/resources/blog/wage-growth-as-a-leading-inflation-indicator/ "Mag 7 Stocks: Risk Or Opportunity In The Making?" https://realinvestmentadvice.com/resources/blog/mag-7-stocks-risk-or-opportunity-in-the-making/ --- Get more info & commentary: https://realinvestmentadvice.com/insights/real-investment-daily/ ------- * REGISTER for our next Candid Coffee, "Narrative Busters: Market Stories Investors Should Approach With Caution," Saturday, July 18, 2026: https://streamyard.com/watch/RfJtCj2byfDr --- Visit our Site: https://www.realinvestmentadvice.com Contact Us: 1-855-RIA-PLAN --- Subscribe to SimpleVisor : https://www.simplevisor.com/register-new --- Connect with us on social: https://twitter.com/RealInvAdvice https://twitter.com/LanceRoberts https://www.facebook.com/RealInvestmentAdvice/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/realinvestmentadvice/ #RetirementPlanning #BoomerangGeneration #PersonalFinance #AdultChildren #FamilyFinance
More families are experiencing the Boomerang Generation phenomenon, with adult children moving back home because of housing costs, student debt, career changes, or other life events. Before saying "yes," parents should understand the financial, legal, and retirement planning implications. Richard Rosso & Jonathan McCarty discuss how you can protect your retirement while helping your adult children, including household expenses, setting boundaries, estate planning considerations, and knowing when financial support helps—or hurts. Whether your adult children are moving back temporarily or never left the nest, having a clear plan can preserve both your finances and your family relationships. Subscribe for more insights on retirement planning, investing, personal finance, Social Security, and building long-term financial security. 0:00 INTRO 0:24 - McCarty's Contaminated Gasoline Tale 1:45 - Texas Stock Exchange Opens 3:35 - The Boomerang Generation - why is it happening? 6:00 - Where Younger Generations Want to Live & Financial Independence 9:57 - The Long Term Care Crisis Impact on Children 14:03 - Homebuilders' Response to Shifting Trends (Tiny Homes) 16:35 - Dealing with Lifestyle Creep 18:14 - Planning for Multi-family Living 20:34 - The Associated Costs of Moving Back Home 23:55 - Planning Pragmatically - Defining Purpose and Process 28:14 - Financial Expectations - Spending Tomorrow's Money 30:06 - Empty-nesting again 32:39 - Establishing Household Ground Rules 36:05 - The Long Term Care Dilemma & Care Giving 38:28 - Importance of Reviewing Insurance Needs - What to do with the Stuff 40:22 - Dealing with Tax Implications (Gifting, Home Purchases, etc) 42:01 - The Sibling Imbalances (Roth Conversions) 47:30 - What's the Exit Strategy; Lawnmowers & Socks 50:20 - The Emotional Impacts of Cohabitation 54:04 - Narrative Busters Tease - The Space-X Narrative, AI Hosted by RIA Advisors Director of Financial Planning, Richard Rosso, CFP, w Senior Investment Advisor, Jonathan McCarty, CFP Produced by Brent Clanton, Executive Producer ------- Do you enjoy our content? Rate us on Google: https://bit.ly/4b9JtEo ------- Watch Today's Full Video on our YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/live/gXj-QntdhK0?feature=share ------- Watch our previous show, "Q&A Wednesday" https://youtube.com/live/ua-paCoNRwo?feature=share ------- Articles mentioned in this report: "Margin Debt Risk: The Ratios That Mislead Investors," https://realinvestmentadvice.com/resources/blog/margin-debt-risk-the-ratios-that-mislead-investors/ "Wage Growth As A Leading Inflation Indicator" https://realinvestmentadvice.com/resources/blog/wage-growth-as-a-leading-inflation-indicator/ "Mag 7 Stocks: Risk Or Opportunity In The Making?" https://realinvestmentadvice.com/resources/blog/mag-7-stocks-risk-or-opportunity-in-the-making/ --- Get more info & commentary: https://realinvestmentadvice.com/insights/real-investment-daily/ ------- * REGISTER for our next Candid Coffee, "Narrative Busters: Market Stories Investors Should Approach With Caution," Saturday, July 18, 2026: https://streamyard.com/watch/RfJtCj2byfDr --- Visit our Site: https://www.realinvestmentadvice.com Contact Us: 1-855-RIA-PLAN --- Subscribe to SimpleVisor : https://www.simplevisor.com/register-new --- Connect with us on social: https://twitter.com/RealInvAdvice https://twitter.com/LanceRoberts https://www.facebook.com/RealInvestmentAdvice/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/realinvestmentadvice/ #RetirementPlanning #BoomerangGeneration #PersonalFinance #AdultChildren #FamilyFinance
The guys revisit a topic they've been getting a lot of feedback from. It started with a recent MTGA episode titled “Eric Hates Combi Boilers”.In this episode, Eric and Andy discuss the pros and cons of combi boilers, common issues, applications, and backup strategies for heating systems. They share insights on system reliability, application scenarios, and practical tips for homeowners and professionals.Text the guys your ideas & feedback! Get a free 2 hour online course at www.propane.com/hybrid Send us your feedback or topic ideas over on our social channels!Eric Aune @mechanicalhub Andy Mickelson @mick_plumbNewsletter sign up: https://bit.ly/MH_email
What separates a collection of houses from a place people fight to be part of? For John Hillman, the answer starts before the first stake goes in the ground.In this episode of The Punch List Podcast, Matt Birdwell, Jennifer O'Neal, and Ian MacDonald sit down with John Hillman — the vision behind two of Northeast Florida's most intentionally designed communities: Crane Island, a private gated enclave of custom Lowcountry homes along the Intracoastal Waterway in Fernandina Beach, and The Eleven at Congaree & Penn, eleven ten-acre agrarian homesteads outside Jacksonville where residents don't buy lots — they stake Claims.For custom builders and remodelers, this conversation goes somewhere most project meetings never reach: the philosophy underneath the build. John unpacks what it takes to design communities that compound in value over time — not just financially, but in meaning, identity, and the kind of word-of-mouth that no marketing budget can manufacture.If you're building custom homes or high-end renovations, you're already in the legacy business. This episode asks whether you're thinking about it that way.Mixed & Edited by Next Day Podcastinfo@nextdaypodcast.com
A major bipartisan housing affordability bill appeared ready to move forward, but President Trump delayed the signing while pushing Congress to pass the SAVE America Act. In this episode of MX3 Podcast, we discuss what the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is supposed to do, why housing remains unaffordable for many Americans, and whether the bill actually addresses the real problems facing homebuyers, builders, and local communities.We talk through mortgage rates, housing supply, manufactured homes, corporate investors, property taxes, impact fees, local permitting, and the political fight over voter registration requirements. Is this housing bill a real step toward affordability, or is it mostly political theater wrapped in paperwork?MX3 Podcast is about money, motivation, and relevant events. Subscribe for more conversations on the issues affecting everyday Americans, business owners, families, and communities.Visit us at www.mx3.vipDrop a comment below: What do you think is the biggest reason housing has become unaffordable: interest rates, property taxes, construction costs, investors, or government regulation?Support the showMX3 Podcast on Youtubewww.youtube.com/@mx3podcastContact MX3 PodcastTweet us: @mx3podcastEmail us: info@mx3.vipLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-w-wright-9397b23a/Thanks for listening & keep on living your life the Wright way!
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In this episode, Kristof sits down with sustainability expert Josh Jacobs to demystify the ins and outs of Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Product Category Rules (PCRs) and ISO Standards that are causing a decarbonization to happen around the world. Translating the complex data of an LCA into a standardized format, EPDs function as 'nutrition labels' for building materials, helping designers and specifiers count the 'carbon calories' of everything from steel girders to heat pumps. Josh and Kristof explore the critical shift from focusing exclusively upon operational carbon to including embodied carbon in the carbon reduction conversation, break down the cradle-to-grave phases of building materials, and offer actionable insights on using better data to make truly sustainable design decisions.Apologies that Kristof's mic was clipping. Josh JacobsJosh has helped numerous AHJs develop and implement sustainable purchasing policies and requirements, including but not limited to: the US General Service Administration, the US Military through the UFGS, the State of California, the city of New York, the Building Construction Authority of Singapore, and numerous universities and private businesses. Josh has also helped develop influential materials, human health, product emissions, and indoor air quality criteria in numerous global codes and rating systems, including but not limited to LEED v4 and v4.1, Fitwel, Green Globes, CALGreen, IgCC, ASHRAE 189.1, and BREEAM. He also works with organizations investor relations and sustainability teams to understand ESG financial reporting tools such as SASB, GRI, and TCF along with looking at their carbon footprint.Links from the EpisodeOrganizations Mentioned:MEP2040: An organization and steering committee focused on decarbonizing mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems.WAP Sustainability Consulting: A large life cycle assessment organization that helps manufacturers create EPDs.SLR: A global environmental and advisory firm that owns WAP.USGBC: The U.S. Green Building Council, associated with the LEED rating system.ASHRAE: The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.ISO: The International Organization for Standardization.NSF: An organization with an EPD program (distinct from the National Science Foundation - originally focused on water certification).UL: Underwriters Laboratories, an early EPD program operator in North America.ICC-ES: The International Code Council Evaluation Service, an EPD program operator.ASTM: An organization that features an EPD program.ANSI: The American National Standards Institute.CIBSE: The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers based in the UK.NAHB: The National Association of Home Builders.Standards and Financial ToolsISO 14040 / ISO 14044: International standards that provide the framework and guidelines for conducting LCAs.ISO 14025: The standard that governs how program operators run EPD programs and dictates what should be included in an EPD.ISO 21930: The overarching Product Category Rule (PCR) for building materials typically used in the Americas.EN 15804: The European equivalent to ISO 21930.ISO 20400: The standard for Sustainable Procurement.ASHRAE 189.1: A standard for the design of high-performance green buildings.IgCC: The International Green Construction Code.CIBSE TM65 / North American CIBSE/ASHRAE TM65: A standard that approximates an LCA to provide directionally accurate information when a full EPD is not available.SASB, GRI, TCFD: Sustainable financial reporting tools used by organizations and investor relations teams.TeamHosted by Kristof IrwinEdited by Nico MignardiProduced by M. Walker
Ryan sits down with Master Builders CEO Ankit Sharma to unpack the government's $7 billion capital package and what it will actually take to turn that intention into real pipeline for the industry. They also dig into what Master Builders is hearing directly from members through its regional summit series, where over a thousand business leaders gathered this year, including the mindset gap between businesses that are merely surviving and those that are genuinely thriving right now.Ankit shares real examples from the listening tour he conducted alongside the summits, including a Wellington builder turning AI into a customer communication tool and coming out more profitable than ever. The conversation closes with four practical principles from Ankit's recent LinkedIn article, and a teaser of the full listening tour findings coming to Constructive 2026, 3 to 4 September at the Aotea Centre, Auckland.Useful linksConnect with Ankit Sharma on LinkedInWhen the Wind Changes, Great Leaders TackSubscribe to Rethink 4.0 NewsletterWhere else you can find usWebsite: https://www.masterbuilder.org.nz/Elevate Platform: http://elevate.masterbuilder.org.nzInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/masterbuildernz/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/registeredmasterbuildersYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmh_9vl0pFf0zSB6N7RrVeg
In this follow-up episode of The Market Pulse, host Aaron Fichera of SmartTouch® welcomes back John Lee, CEO and Founder of Anewgo, for an insightful discussion on the accelerating impact of artificial intelligence across the home building industry.Building on their previous conversation, Aaron and John explore the latest advancements in AI coming into 2026, the wave of major technology acquisitions reshaping the market, and what these developments mean for builders, developers, and real estate professionals. They examine how industry leaders are investing in AI-driven platforms and why these shifts are changing the way homes are marketed, sold, and experienced.In this episode, you'll learn: How recent AI advancements are influencing the homebuilding industryThe significance of major acquisitions and marketconsolidationWays AI can enhance the customer experience from firsttouch to closingPractical applications for AI throughout the buyer'sjourneyOpportunities to improve operational efficiency andteam productivityKey considerations for builders looking to adopt AIresponsibly and effectivelyWhether you're a builder, developer, marketer or sales leader this episode provides valuable insights into how AI is transforming the future of homebuilding and how yourorganization can stay ahead of the curve
This week, Miles Clark and Trevor Plesko discuss the S&P 500, technology strength, weakness in Homebuilders, and Bitcoin.Get Our Weekly Newsletter:NDW Lite: https://nd.nasdaq.com/Index-Preference-Center-LP-.htmlHow to Find Us:Twitter: https://x.com/DorseyWrightNDWLinkedIn: / nasdaqdorseywrightResearch: https://dorseywright.nasdaq.com
Keith talks with data-driven investor Neal Bawa, the "mad scientist of multifamily," about why apartment values have dropped 20%–30% while single-family prices have stayed resilient. They break down how interest rate shocks, the homeowner lock-in effect, and a wave of new multifamily supply are reshaping returns for today's investors. Keith and Neal also dissect the build-to-rent model—who it really serves, how apartment oversupply is pressuring its rents, and why pending legislation could upend the space. Neal closes with a specific, data-backed timeline for when multifamily rents and values may finally turn the corner, giving listeners a concrete roadmap instead of vague market guesses. Resources: Grocapitus Website - https://www.grocapitus.com Multifamily U's Free eBook: Location Magic - https://multifamilyu.com/lp/location-magic-ebook/ Multifamily U's Investor Club – https://multifamilyu.com/club Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/609 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments. For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text FAMILY to 66866 Unlock truly passive real estate income—visit flockhomes.com/GRE today to see if your properties qualify for a 721 exchange with Flock Homes. To get in the best physical, mental, and professional shape of your life, go to DanielThomasHind.com and apply for Daniel's intensive 1-on-1 coaching for burnt-out entrepreneurs and executives. Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review" For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript: Keith Weinhold 0:00 Keith, welcome to GRE. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold. The single-family real estate market is steady, but with apartment building values down 20 to 30% since 2022 when will the multifamily Armageddon end? We ask our qualified guest, and how will slowing birth rates in immigration affect real estate? And more today on Get Rich Education. You know, Mid South Home Buyers, that top Memphis turnkey provider. I learned that a secret weapon behind their explosive growth is more than just you buying their properties, it's an executive coach for nine years now, their CEO, Terry Kerr, and his COO, Pat Nix, have worked privately with a coach who I've now learned from too, and he doesn't market himself online anywhere. After 12 years behind the scenes, that coach is now making himself available exclusively for GRE listeners. His name is Daniel Thomas Hind. If you're a hard-charging business owner or investor who wants to get in the best shape of your life, physically, mentally, and professionally, you can fill out an application for a free consult. This is private one on one coaching for those willing to go to uncommon lengths to achieve uncommon results. Thanks to Daniel, we've all become better leaders, better operators, and better men. It started by showing up for ourselves. Now it's your turn. Go to Daniel Thomas hind.com H I N D, that's Daniel Thomas hind.com and sign up before Spotsville Flock homes helps multifamily owners exit the operator grind, whether it's your six plex or a 50 unit apartment, through a 721 exchange. This defers your capital gains tax. It's a strategy long used by institutions. Now you can swap tenants and toilets for passive income and zero management. Request your initial valuations. See if your property qualifies at flockhomes.com/gre That's F L O C K homes dot com slash G R E. Neal Bawa 2:13 You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is Get Rich Education. Keith Weinhold 2:29 Welcome to GRE from Valencia, Spain to Valencia, California, and across 188 nations worldwide. America's favorite shaved mammal on a microphone is back with you for another wealth building week. I'm Keith Weinhold, and you're listening to Get Rich Education. The world's biggest problems are the world's biggest businesses. That's not a coincidence, and that's why we discuss housing here. And there's been a chronic shortage of affordable housing last month at a commencement speech, Harrison Ford, yes, the guy that played both Han Solo and Indiana Jones, talked about how a fulfilling life has both passion and purpose. Passion is what gets you out of bed in the morning, purpose is what helps you sleep at night, you and I. We can bring this mindset to our lifestyle, to the business we do, and to our investing. Treating tenants well is what helps real estate investors sleep well at night. While we're doing well, we can be doing good too. Multifamily syndicators keep failing, going out of business, and losing all of their investors' money due to mortgage rate resets. It just keeps happening. What this really means, that these groups that pooled together investor money to buy apartment buildings, largely that were set up in 2022 and earlier keep blowing up almost fully due to the fact that interest rates reset higher. Some of them had a fixed rate for five years. Well, rates spiked four years ago, and that's why a lot of them have yet to blow up, and these apartments have lost so much value that no one will refinance them, you know. Even if that apartment operator increased the net operating income over the years, even if rents went up, it doesn't matter. So, you still haven't heard the last of it. Do you remember a couple years ago, when a lot of people in the apartment space, they were saying just stay alive till 25 and that nonsense, like if you keep your head above water until 2025 oh well, then rates are certainly going to fall, and everyone's going to be okay. Well, 2025 is long gone. Keith Weinhold 5:01 Mortgage rates haven't fallen in any significant way, so that survive until 25 thing or whatever mantra derivative people used that was a farce, like I've said on the show here for years. You cannot predict interest rates, so I didn't make the call that they were going to go up or down at all, because you can't predict them, but so many people said, oh, rates will fall substantially by now, no way, you just can't make that assumption, you've got to take history over hunches, and all of that, a lot of those multifamily deals 100% depended. depended on refinancing at favorable rates, and that's exactly why they failed. A surefire way to look foolish is to predict interest rates. We'll talk more about the multifamily Armageddon with today's guest. I also want to get into what's called the 21st century road to housing act, because that became one of the most hotly debated housing policy provisions this year. And what this is, is a Senate bill, and it would require certain large institutional investors that develop these bills to rent single family communities. It would force them to sell those homes to individual buyers within seven years. So, in other words, what a big firm could do is build a neighborhood of rental homes, lease them for up to seven years, but they couldn't hold on to them any longer than that. They couldn't hold them indefinitely as rentals, this bill is not aimed at you, the individual investor. It is aimed at big institutions, and what I mean by that is that's generally defined as owning 350 or more homes. That's what we're talking about here. Small landlords and mom and pop investors are not the target, it targets corporate portfolios, and this means groups whose names you've probably heard of, like Blackstone, First Key Homes, Progress Residential, and Invitation Homes. They are some of the heavyweights that the government is looking to clamp down on, so whenever you hear someone talk about big Wall Street landlords, that is who they're talking about. Now, some groups are pretty worried about the 21st Century Road to Housing Act, like the NHB, that's the National Association of Home Builders, and a lot of multifamily groups are concerned, and why is that? Well, the effect is it could dramatically reduce new housing production. Keith Weinhold 7:44 See, a big institution like First Key Homes or Blackstone, they wouldn't want to even get into this business anymore. They wouldn't want to build big build to rent communities anymore if they have to sell them all within seven years. See, they want to buy and hold for the long term, kind of like what you and I are doing, because you and I know that owning a group of selective buy and hold single family rentals is a really profitable place to be, but so if they don't want to build, then that creates a reduction in supply, which could make prices go up, and then obviously hurt those trying to afford their own home. Well, that would defeat the purpose of this whole thing. I mean, my gosh, this always seems to happen when government gets involved. So, the 21st Century Road to Housing Act could limit supply, which is the exact opposite of its intent to get first-time home buyers into their first home, and if this passes, it does have bipartisan support. This lower supply, then yes, indeed puts upward pressure on prices. Just amazing. So then it could actually go on to help the everyday mom and pop investor, like you and I, that already owns property, the individual at last check, though they're looking to pass a version that still restricts some of these giant institutions from getting into build to rents, but yet it does not have that seven year sale requirement. What's really important to remember here is that Washington, they're looking to stifle big Wall Street players from the rental market, which could reduce supply. They're not targeting individual investors. The context that's important is that these groups, they own 10s of 1000s of homes, they don't own hundreds of 1000s, and they don't own a million, so it's a really small percentage of the housing market, whatever direction policy breaks, then the headlines that it creates are just greater in magnitude than the effect on the market is. It's an important frame of reference here. Let's meet this week's guest. This week we're welcoming back a guest that we haven't heard from in a year or two in real estate circles. He is popularly known as the mad scientist of multifamily. He's quite an in-demand speaker. He has a $500 million multifamily portfolio that he essentially shares with over 1300 investors. He's sharp, a good educator, and a straight shooter. That's why he's here. It's a warm welcome back to Neal Bawa. Neal Bawa 10:32 Thanks for having me on the show again. It's delightful to be here, and so many interesting things to talk about in the world these days. Keith Weinhold 10:38 There really are.. I don't know if we can get it all in, Bawa is spelled B A W A. Neal, I want to get to your future housing market outlook later. How you think the future looks, including when multi families quasi Armageddon might end. But first, you're known as a data driven real estate guy. Tell us about that, and how being data driven makes you profitable. Neal Bawa 11:03 I see concern, and I'll tell you why. The single family and multifamily market have been atrociously incredibly divergent since the first quarter of 2022 They have not tracked yet each other at all, even though if you look at the last 50 years, they tend to track each other. So you know, 2008 was a Armageddon for single family, Armageddon for multifamily, and they both sort of came up in 2012 2013 and then they had a really good time until Covid. Keith Weinhold 11:30 Yeah, Neal Bawa 11:31 but the second quarter of 2022 is when Fed started raising rates, and since then we've sort of slid - multifamily has gone down in terms of pricing between 20 and 30% depending upon the metro, you know, and depending upon whether it's new construction, new construction assets have gone down more than 30% and existing assets that are filled up have gone down by 20 to 30% depending upon the metro. So, metros that have a large amount of supply, closer to 30% decline in value, the metros that have less supply probably closer to 20% decline in value, right. Keith Weinhold 12:03 Demand demand has been pretty resilient. It's more of a supply story. Neal Bawa 12:06 It's a huge supply story, right. So, if you look at, you know, occupancy, essentially what's happened is there was so much supply that came in that really people started on those projects in 2022 maybe they didn't start a construction until 2023 they didn't finish construction until 2025 so they started leasing up in 2025 They had to give offer concessions two months, sometimes three months free, and so that pushed down the rents in 2025. And they're not done, because you typically can't rent an apartment in six months. If it's brand new, it's going to take you about 18 months to rent it, and sometimes 24 months, and so it's affected our rents in 2025 it's affecting our rents in 2026. Now it's unlikely to affect it in 2027 but we'll go there, you know, at a later stage. But at the moment, we, what we've seen is negative rent growth in the United States for multifamily for the last 12 to 15 months, and what I think is going to be negative rent growth in Q of this year and Q2 of this year, so Q1 was negative, Q2, which we are in now, is likely to be negative or flat now. Single family, on the other hand, has gone in a different direction, which has been very difficult to understand, and I believe it's taken me a while to really understand this, but I think I've finally figured it out. Single family prices are not down since 2022 which makes no sense at all, because the average mortgage in the United States today is almost double, almost double, not quite double, but almost double of what it was in at the beginning of 2022 when interest rates were about 3.3 3.4% Right now we're sitting around, you know, six and a half percent interest rates, so not quite doubled interest rates, but they've obviously gone up a fair bit, and as a result, your average, you know, mortgage has almost doubled, but home prices haven't dropped, which makes no sense if you really think about it, because home prices are a factor of demand, and they're also a factor of people's ability to pay, so if all of a sudden within four years you're paying, the mortgage is doubled, then less people are going to be able to buy, but it stayed up, the market has stayed up, and the biggest reason it stayed up is because of what is known as the lock-in effect. So, the US market typically has a million new homes every year, and there's more than a million existing homes that are transacted, right? So, it's an open market, it's a perfect competition market, but it hasn't been perfect competition for the last four years, because so many people locked in ridiculously low interest rates. Neal Bawa 14:28 Perfect example, in 2021 and 2022 I have a 15 year mortgage at 1.75% If I sell my house back to myself, my mortgage quadruples, quadruples, right, because it goes from 1.75% to six and a half percent, so I can't even imagine even think about leaving my home, right, because it's just such a perfect loan. Most people don't have anywhere near 1.75% but there's lots of people with more mortgages in the 3% three and a half percent, and 4% range that basically can't go anywhere, and because those homes are not coming into the market. The last three years the market has had this unusual not enough supply factor, and that's been keeping prices up. That is ending. That is ending, because what we've been tracking is the percentage of homes in the United States that have low mortgages. Low is simply defined as anything under four and a half percent, and that percentage is going down each quarter, because you know divorces happen, deaths happen, you know people move for jobs, and so every time that happens, that locked in rate goes away, because you sell your home and move on, and so for a while that lock in effect was predominant, it was controlling everything, but as time has gone on, interest rates were higher in 2324 2526 For also almost four years have passed since the rate started going up. So each quarter the percentage of homes in the US that have these low interest rates has slowly moved down, and we're almost back to a normal timeframe. Neal Bawa 15:53 And this is causing the single family market to not have a conniption, but we're starting to see a balancing of the market, where it's not just a buyer's market anymore, in some places it's actually seller's market, some places it's a buyer's market. So we're now starting to see home prices drop in number of markets in the United States. I can't say that they've dropped in super majors, but we're seeing a flattening out effect of home prices in most metros in the US, and there should be a flattening effect. Just to be blunt, I mean, obviously I own a bunch of single-family homes, so I just wanted them to keep going up for selfish reasons. But if you think about it, we had huge home price growth in like 30 plus percent in number of years, 2021 22 and even 23 and during those years, salaries only went up by two to 3% a year. In one year, they went up by 4% and rents also went up like crazy. There was a 2021 was 15% rent growth year. So, at some point, there had to be an adjustment, and we are in that period of adjustment where single family prices are basically flat on a national basis. Yes, going up in the San Francisco Bay Area because of AI, and going up in a couple other technology-heavy metros because of AI, but otherwise fairly flat, and I don't expect that to change for the next year. So, my forecast is next 12 to 18 months, home prices in the US are going to be flat on a nominal basis, they're going to be down on an inflation-adjusted basis, but you know, because of the Iran, more inflation's three and a half percent, so home prices should go up three and a half percent. So, if they stay where they are, well, they're really dropping three and a half percent. Keith Weinhold 17:29 Yeah, before this year began, I released our forecast, it was for 2% nominal home price appreciation in the one to four unit space for the US this year, and I still like how that looks. There's so much to unpack with what you just talked about. In my view, there's nothing unusual at all that when mortgage rates rose sharply a few years ago, that home prices rose as well. Why? Because actually, that's what usually happens, which is counterintuitive to most people. In all of our lifetimes, residential real estate prices have only fallen significantly one time, that was around 2008 due to a number of unusual circumstances. The only thing that's a bit different this time is, of course, how fast rates increased in 2022 and 2023 and people wondering if residential real estate prices could still keep up, and they certainly have, but yeah, you brought up this dichotomy, this bifurcation about how the apartment market and the one to four unit space kind of separated from each other in 2022 or 2023 That's what's so interesting. Neal Bawa 18:36 I do want to point out a couple things, though, and I don't want to be a Pollyanna here and talk about negative stuff, but I think that there's big difference between 2008 and that timeframe and where we are today, and that difference is, and it has multiple parts. Not all of your audience is aware of this. Until about 2012 the United States had very reasonable birth rates. You know, we were one of those countries that had avoided the debacle that Japan, Korea, China, and a number of other countries are seeing South Korea being the absolute worst, where basically they were producing one baby per generation, where you need about 2.2 babies just to kind of keep your population where it is, right, and the US was unusually high in that, and that we were still above that threshold, which meant that our population would continue to grow and not fall. Now, there was two reasons our population was growing: One, we had more than 2.2 babies per household, and second, we had a very significant amount of legal and a very significant amount of illegal or undocumented immigration. Right, so we had both of those pipelines today. All three of those have flipped, so the United States now basically looks like Korea or China or Japan in that every household is producing about one and a half babies, which means that our population growth, which hasn't stopped yet, because it takes a while for these things to catch. Up is likely to stop, like it's, and at some point decline again. Luckily, we're not there yet. The US is a fairly young population, unlike Japan, which is one of the oldest populations in the world. So, it'll, we'll still continue to see population growth, but there is no doubt. And you can ask Chat GPT, right? How has population growth in the United States slowed over the last 20 years. Neal Bawa 19:22 Make me a graph, and it will make you a very nice graph, and you'll very clearly see there's a slowdown in population growth. The second part is both documented and undocumented immigration. It's my estimate that since this administration took over, somewhere between half 1,000,001 million people have left the United States. Now it's very difficult to get an actual number, as you can imagine. A number of these people were undocumented, so we didn't really know how many there were to begin with. And a number of them, when they left, they also left by an undocumented rate, that you know, path. So we've lost a bunch of those people, and also the people that have stayed in the country, we've lost a number of them in the workforce. Here's a perfect anecdote, Keith. About 33% of the construction workforce in the United States was undocumented, one in three. In Texas, as much as 40% Keith Weinhold 19:45 Yeah, that's huge. Neal Bawa 19:45 It's very significant. Number of those people don't show up for work anymore. I don't think they've left the US, at least I don't think so. But they don't show up for work anymore, because that's how they get caught, right. So, what we've seen is that the construction workforce in the United States has become been decimated over the last 12 months, and the impact is much greater in the second half of 2025 than the first half. Why? Because even though they wanted to do ICE enforcement, they just simply didn't have enough agents, enough facilities, enough judges. When the second half of last year, they sort of started catching up on that, hiring more agents, getting more facilities, getting more judges, and so we started to see a real challenge there. I have properties in 10 markets in the US, and what I can say is about seven of those markets, mostly Southern markets, I am beginning to see dropping occupancy related to this phenomenon. I'm seeing a reduction, and so markets like Georgia and Texas, Florida are more hit than my northern markets like Idaho. I haven't seen any impact at all, but these southern markets, multiple properties, multiple metros, I'm seeing this - people, mostly of Spanish, Mexican origin, not renewing leases. I don't know what they're doing. I don't know if they're sleeping in their cars. I don't know if they're basically just, you know, staying with mom or staying with, you know, some other family. But I'm seeing a very, very big pullback in my leases tied to this, and occupancy is dropping in those markets that are heavily Hispanic. And so I'm seeing the impact of that on landlords, but I also know that there's an impact on the US at all, and overall demand on rentals, whether it's single family or multifamily. This is a significant impact, because I don't think that the Republicans are going to make a U-turn on this. I don't want to get political, but you know, stating the obvious. Keith Weinhold 19:45 Yes, United States had its biggest birth year in 2007 when there were more than 4 million babies born. The average age of the first time homebuyer today is 40 years old. If that holds true, that peak would take place in 2047 And then, yes, to your point about changes in immigration, yes, it sounds like a potentially a reduction in demand with what you're talking about, with some vacancies, and also maybe a reduction in supply when you have fewer construction workers to build these places as well, we're talking about building properties. Neal, I want to talk to you about the build to rent space. Somewhat is build to rent better than traditional real estate? I think that's what we really want to know. And for those that don't know, build to rent means when you construct a property where from day one that construction project is built for a tenant, not an owner occupant. I see a lot of pros and cons there. Can you talk to us about the trade-offs between build to rent and traditional real estate? Neal Bawa 19:52 Yeah, if you think about it, it's a really terrible word, built to rent, because if you think about the word built to rent should be apartments, right, but actually doesn't mean apartments, right? So, built to rent actually means single family or town homes that were built to rent out, right? And then you're like, why don't they just said built to rent apartments and town homes? Well, you know, was too long an acronym, and we suck at acronyms anyway. But BTR, or built to rent, is essentially building single family or town homes, but specifically building them to rent, and it doesn't include any apartments at all, right? And the reason why the BTR market was growing in the last five or six years is that roughly 18 million American families can no longer afford to buy starter single family homes, you know, and by starter I mean, small old single-family homes. That's how Americans usually started, you know, in their 20s and 30s. They would buy these homes, some of them, but they would fix up, and then they over time, in their 30s, late 30s and 40s and 50s, they would upgrade, and then at starting the 50s, it would flatten out, and then the 60s, they would start to downgrade, right? That's been a typical thing that's happened in America for 56 5070, years. Well, that is, cannot happen anymore. And it broke in 2022 until 2022 It was a normal cycle beyond 2022 because interest rates almost doubled, and the mortgages almost doubled, but the incomes only increased by 10 to 20% There became this orphaned generation of Americans, roughly 18 million families, that simply cannot afford to buy that starter home, and they are now forever renters. They don't know it. They think that they're going to catch up at some point, but five minutes with an Excel spreadsheet, I could prove it to them that they're not going to catch up. Neal Bawa 25:35 Maybe one in 100 families would see a very large increase in income, and that would result in them catching up, but for the most part, as a group, these 18 million families, they're forever enters as a group that didn't exist before 2021 right. It's entirely because of this outrageous increase in mortgages, while not seeing a drop in home prices, that led to this, and so those orphan families, they actually earn pretty well, so these are families that make 70, 80, $90,000 in mid markets. They make over $100,000 if they're living on the coasts or in expensive markets, and they still can't buy that, you know, starter home. And so they don't want to live in apartments. I have lots of apartments, old ones, new ones, and I want these people to live there, but they don't want to live there, and so they've been looking for an option, and that option has been developers like me building communities of 200 300 townhomes or single family homes with a small little yard, and then basically from day one, instead of selling them, renting them out, and then once you're done renting out the whole community with 200 tenants, then you sell that to an apartment company. You know, there's lots of apartment companies in the US that have 100,000 units. Well, they want to buy these because the turnover is lower. So, what happens is most of these town homes and single-family homes for rent. Families come in, and they typically rent for three to five years before they move, whereas in on my apartments I lose 40% of my tenants each year. So, if I have 200 tenants, I lose 80 of them every year, and I have to basically go back, clean up those units, deal with the vacancy. But when I have townhome communities like my Idaho Falls townhome community. I lose a tenant at roughly every four years, and so, as you can imagine, profitability goes up when turnover goes down, right? Neal Bawa 27:31 Because you don't have that cost of turnover and vacancy, and so eventually those large landlords that are holding 100,000 units figured out, I like this, what Neal Bawa is doing, he's building these 200 townhomes, I want to buy these from him when they're rented. I don't want to build them, I don't want to lease them up, I just want to buy them when they're stabilized. And so BTR became that name for that marketplace where developers would build townhomes and single families, rent them out, and then sell them to institutional, and it was some— Keith Weinhold 27:56 People think of fabulous institutionalization of the starter home. Neal Bawa 28:00 And in many ways it is, because what happened is, for a while, these institutional players, like Blackstone and BlackRock, they were like, we are just going to go out and buy 50,000 single-family homes, and that's going to be the institutionalized. Well, that worked really well if you bought in 2008 2009 2010 2011 because you got them bought them at a discount, but when they started buying them in 2015, 16, 17, 18 at ever higher prices, they didn't make any money. So the vast majority of these public funds that were created to buy large amounts of single family have failed if they've purchased anything in the last seven or eight years. If they bought before that, they made huge amounts of money. Family homes are so expensive that basically buying them for rental did not make sense, so these companies have now pivoted to saying we'll only buy communities that have 100 or 200 or 300 of these homes, because then we get the benefits of having centralized leasing, centralized property management, centralized maintenance, and I don't have homes spread all over the metro, they're all in one place, and I can make more profit from that. In theory, that's been good, and you might think that I'm bullish on BTR, but I'm actually today bearish on BTR for one single reason. About seven months ago, Republicans started talking about a bill - I don't know what the name of the bill is, but what this bill does is it forces builds to rent developers like me within seven years of building the property to sell all of the homes in that property to single family tenants, not to Blackstone, not to Blackrock, but to single family tenants. Hasn't passed yet, but it passed the Senate with an 8910 vote, which means that both Democrats and Republicans wanted to vote for this. If it passes the House, and because Donald Trump himself is very heavily opposed to it, he's made it very clear he doesn't like this. He's a developer, obviously. It hasn't passed the House yet, but if it passes the house, that will destroy the build to rent market. No one will ever build build to rent, because the worst possible thing is I build this, and within seven years I have to actually sell it to individual buyers. If I do that, my banks are going to hate me and not give me loans to build BTR anymore. Obviously, there's going to be some grandfathering to the communities that I'm building now, or maybe even build the ones that I'm building in 2027 maybe grandfathered. It usually is, because you know, Congress never does anything retroactively, and they give you a year or two, but if it passes, it's doomsday for BTR. I hope it doesn't happen, but that's the way it's looking, because it's bipartisan. Bipartisan bills are more likely to pass Keith Weinhold 30:40 Now for the mom and pop investor, the individual investor build to rents have obvious appeal due to your point about the lower turnover, lower maintenance costs on a new build, lower insurance costs often on a new build, and then there's the tenant appeal to a new build as well, but of course there is that investor downside. I think a lot of investors are aware of their thin initial cash flow that they're going to have on build to rent, but you know, Neal, another downside with build to rent, I think a lot of investors don't look at is, hey, just how many of these things are they building? Are they building 500 of them? Do I have some overbuild risk if I buy into this community that could suppress occupancy and rents for a while. Neal Bawa 31:21 What we've seen is that when Built to Rent started out in 2017-2018 it was its own asset class. It wasn't competing with apartments, it wasn't competing with single family rentals, it was just its own thing. However, in the last two or three years, as more and more apartments flooded the marketplace, we had a glut. It moved away from that. It basically started getting affected, and the rent started falling, just like any other portion of the market. You know, think of it as three portions of market. There's the built to rent, which I described, you know, brand new single family homes, town homes per rent. There's the apartments, both brand new and existing, and there's the single family rentals, right, which there are millions of. What we are seeing now is it's become one market, right? All of them are affecting each other, and the apartments, which have a huge amount of glut, there's a massive amount of new apartments that have come in in the last two years, are really pushing the rents down for single family, they're pushing that rents down for BTR. So, at this point, what I would say to people that have this concern, Keith, is simply look at incoming apartment supply, because if you're in a marketplace, and I'll give you examples of really good markets that are crushed right now. If you're in a market that has a lot of incoming supply, whether you buy a single family rental, a quadplex, a 50 plex that's an apartment, or 100 unit BTR, you're going to suffer for rent growth if you have a lot of incoming supply in 2026 and that is across the board in every market in the US. Huntsville, Alabama is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting markets in the US for 5 year, 10 year growth, right? Neal Bawa 32:54 If I had to say you don't need a loan, it's just your own cash, no investors, where would you put money in? It would be at the top of my list, not at the very top. Idaho Falls is definitely the number one market in the US in my list, but Huntsville is up there. But right now, do you know what rent growth in Huntsville is? Minus 2% negative 2% Why? Because there's 6000 units coming into a market that's, you know, 1/5 or 1/10 the size of Phoenix, right. It's 1/10 the size of Dallas, but it has half the units of Dallas or Phoenix coming in, and so rent growth is negative there. So, what I would say is today absolutely everyone that is an investor should understand that we live in the magic world of AI, and you should be talking with Chat GPT about incoming supply for any market that you're interested in, and using that to make your decisions, because all of these markets merged, BTR, new apartments, old apartments, single family, everything has emerged in the last 24 months, where they're all affecting each other, and if there's too much supply of any one kind, it's affecting all of the other markets, and that's the message that I have. And none of this is like you have to go buy a $25,000 software like Costar today. Chat GPT is your costar. Keith Weinhold 34:11 You're listening to Get Rich Education. We're talking with the mad scientist of multifamily, Neal Bawa, where we come back, including what he thinks about recovery for the beleaguered multifamily market. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold. What if you got your mortgage loans the same place I get mine? You sure can at Ridge Lending Group, NMLS 42056 They provided GRE listeners with more loans than anyone, because Ridge specializes in investment property. They'll help you build a long-term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequal, and even chat directly with President Caeli Ridge. While it's on your mind, start at ridgelendinggroup.com that's ridgelendinggroup.com Keith Weinhold 34:56 Let me ask you something: if you've worked hard to build wealth, is your money positioned to actually support your goals? A lot of accredited investors leave capital sitting in cash because it feels safe, but inflation and missed income opportunities can quietly erode its value. Freedom Family Investments offers freedom notes for investors seeking structured income backed by real estate. It's a straightforward approach built on real assets, not speculation. In full disclosure, I'm an investor myself. What I like is that their team walks you through how it all works, so you can decide if it aligns with your portfolio and income goals. Every investment carries risk, and nothing is guaranteed, but with a track record of consistent on-time investor payouts, they built real credibility. Go to freedomfamilyinvestments.com to book a clarity call, or text family 268 66 That's Family 266 866 Speaker 1 36:00 This is the star of the A E Show, The Real Estate Commission. Todd Rollette. Listen to Get Rich Education with my friend Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your daydream. Keith Weinhold 36:20 Welcome back to Get Rised Education. We're talking with Neal Bawa, a really sharp multifamily syndicator who's also highly data driven. And Neal, tell us more about the beleaguered multifamily market that had those aforementioned problems really cropping up in 2022 and we had a lot of supply and spiking rates. What does it look like for the path to recovery for the US multifamily market? Neal Bawa 36:45 Luckily, demand is strong, and even though occupancies have dropped, typically the multifamily market, the large multifamily market in the US, tends to be between 95 and 96% occupied. Okay, and right now we're on 93% so that all that incoming supply means that about 7% of our apartments in the US are empty at the moment, we're trying to fill them, and we are seeing that occupancy drop, not across just new apartments that are leasing up, but also drop in class B and class C. We've also seen a huge increase in concessions, so I studied this quite obsessively, and I can tell you that 2026 in some markets is the recovery year, but not across the board in the United States, and the reason for that is sentiment. Once renters get used to huge amounts of concessions, it's like a drug, it takes a little while before you wean those renters off of those drugs, and so there's that hit right now. Every renter program, Keith Weinhold 37:44 Everyone wants their freebie for good. Neal Bawa 37:46 Yeah, exactly. It's like, hey, what, you're not giving me two months free? Hey, what, you're not even offering me one month free? It takes a while for that expectation to happen, because there's such a huge amount of concessions in the US. So, to me, there are a few markets, usually the smaller markets or very fast growing markets, where there's a recovery in 2026 but otherwise 2027 The first half of 2027 is recovery. The second half of 2027 is fast rent growth in a lot of markets. Why? Because remember, interest rates have been high since 2023 A lot of projects were started in 2022 went into construction in 23 came to market in 25 and 26 Lease ups are happening in 25 and 26 By early mid 27 these are all leased up, right? The second half of 2027 there isn't a lot of delivery in any of these big markets, because to deliver in the second half of 27 you would have started construction in that second half of 2025 and I counted those permits market by market. There's just not a lot, because by that time everyone knew that projects were not getting funded, everyone knew that interest rates were high, so there wasn't a lot of supply of new starts in the apartment market in the second half of 25 so there's not going to be a lot of delivery in the second half of 27 and all of the existing stuff would have been leased by then. So 2026 is one of those years where we could still see more concessions in the second half of 2026 I still see rent growth for apartments to be flat. You mentioned single family might be a little bit higher. It tends to be a little bit higher than apartments in terms of rent growth, but I think flat rent growth for 2026 is what I'm projecting. I'm projecting small rent growth in the first half of 2027 for most markets, and then I'm projecting robust rent growth, call it 3% or greater on an annualized basis, in the second half of 2027 and I'm projecting that most markets in the US that are not seeing a population drop, so count out places like Detroit are going to see a very aggressive rent growth, four or 5% rent growth, that's aggressive in our world, in 2028 28 and 29 are shaping up to be. Supply deficit years, years where supply is well under demand. Keith Weinhold 40:05 It's pretty easy to project completions when you just go ahead and look at starts, and really, what you're counting is the story of absorption. Neal Bawa 40:14 Yep, and what's nice about apartments is you can actually build a single family home in about nine months, right, but you can't build apartments in less than 24 months. There's just so much permitting issues, there's so many delivery issues, fire code issues, and so we have a crystal ball on the multifamily side that we are now getting better at using. I don't think the industry was very good at this in 2022 but now we're really all obsessed with how many permits does my metro have, and how many permits does my state, and how many permits does the US have? And everyone that I know in the industry that's data driven knows that there's a massive glut now, maybe a little bit of a glutton that remaining portion of 2026 equilibrium in 27 and a huge, huge supply deficit in 28 and 29 So everything that I'm doing is based on this, and this crystal ball actually works because of that two year gap between shovels in the ground and delivery, Keith Weinhold 41:10 and it sounds like you've recommended Chat GPT as a go-to source for investors to look into these things, that happens to be my favorite one as well, and you are well, maybe it's a bit too much to say, but it almost feels like to me pioneering with the way that you use AI. In fact, I know before our show today you were running some other things in the background that made me wonder, hey, am I talking to the real Neil or the clone Neil? I know I've got the real Neil here, but why don't you tell us about how you're using AI to make data-driven decisions in real estate? Neal Bawa 41:40 Sure, so the first thing is that we've completed our journey with the low hanging fruit of AI. Every single person in our company is fully trained on how to use Chat GPT. Most of our research-related processes are automated. For example, 100% of our investor updates are now written by Chat GPT. What we do is we go into our property manager meetings on Mondays or Tuesdays sit down with them, beat them up, and the transcript is then taken by our team in the Philippines. They take that transcript and put it into a pre-trained Chat GPT string, it's called a custom GPT, and the string took a while to train, but now that it's trained, all it needs is a transcript. We just copy paste it in, we don't give it any instructions, and it outputs a really wonderful investor update, right. And so our updates for our investors are 99% written by AI. Of course, we'll go in and add our comments at the end of the process. So we've automated investor updates, rent comps, so you know if we are underwriting a new property today, what we do is we simply go into a Google file and copy paste the address and hit enter roughly once a minute. A software, which is written by AI - we're not coders, but the software knows how to write code - it checks the file, if it sees a new address, it goes in there, grabs the address, and then it basically goes to apartments.com rent.com realtor.com and all of these places, and checks the rents for this particular property in two mile radius. It eliminates all the ones that don't match, like you don't want to match the rents of a 1970 or 80s built property with a brand new 25 built property. Those are not comps, it's not comparable. So it basically is very careful, it keeps a radius range of two miles, and also basically is a property of the same kind, you know, like it never matches up a three story property with a 10 story property. Those don't match, one of them obviously is more of a central business district or downtown sort of thing, and so it basically grabs all of those rent comps and then puts them into a file and posts in a Slack channel. Usually it takes it about 1213 minutes to do that, and so whoever put that address in about 12 minutes later goes into the Slack channel and says, "Hmm, these are all my rent comps, right? And boom, now you're basically, you have all these ready rent comps. So, what we've done is, we've automated a significant portion of what we are doing with both our property managers and inside the company with acquisitions and things like that, we're also scraping massive amounts of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, which we just couldn't deal with that data before, and building very beautiful, very interactive dashboards. We don't use Chat GPT for that. We find for dashboarding a tool called Claude, which is by a company called Anthropic, is much better, so we have currently over 150 interactive dashboards that Claude has created that update in real time and give us access to data. If anything, I find that we are in this incredible time where decision making has become much easier, as long as you spend time with these tools. So, in our company we have an absolute mandate that no one has broken for the last year. One year per day, people must program, and by programming we mean issuing common language instructions to tools and build dashboards and build software that automates our work. Have we laid off anyone because of this? I mean that. Be the next obvious question. The answer is no, because it's made it easier for us to serve a much larger audience, so it's easier to grow your company. We just are not hiring anyone, and we haven't hired anybody for the last 18 months, so we have a hiring freeze, but at the same time all of our people are employed because they're they're now much more valuable. So everyone in our company is now a programmer, and even though that sounds weird, it's completely true. Neal Bawa 45:24 Every single person in our company writes code, and they write code by talking with Cloud Code or talking with Chat GPT, and then Chat GPT, of course, does the actual code writing, but people have become very, very good at answering questions and saying, "I want a dashboard like this, turn these radio buttons into drop boxes, and give me the last month, and last three months, and last 12 months, and do this, and do that, and connect this, and I also want to host this on a server, but I want to make sure that only I can see it. I need a password added. Imagine 1000 of these conversations happening in our company every day. Yeah, that's interesting. And what you just described Keith Weinhold 46:00 there at Gro Capitas is somewhat of a microcosm for what's happening in the broader economy, where we've been in this low high or low fire environment for quite a while. Well, Neal, as we're winding down here, we recently had a new Fed chair come in. It seems incomprehensible to me that there could possibly be any rate cuts. I don't know how we could responsibly make a rate cut with all these inflationary layers. We had the pandemic, and then terrorists, and then the Iran war, and the energy shocks, and all these bottled up supply chains. What are your thoughts with regard to the Fed? Neal Bawa 46:29 I still think that we'll get one rate cut, and that rate cut will be based on political pressure. So, for the first time ever, I have seen the Fed break into factions, so if you look at the latest Fed meeting, which happened, you know, there was dissent, there were two clear factions, so the Fed is becoming less data driven and more faction driven, and I think that one of the factions, which obviously wants rate cuts to go down, is going to triumph at some point later in the year, but until we get past the incredible increase in inflation because of the Iran war, I don't think that faction is going to win. Right, there's three or four people in that faction, that's not enough votes to get past the others. So I'm predicting no rate cuts until Q4 of this year. If the Fed was entirely logical, there should still not be a rate card in Q4, but I think it'll happen because there's political pressure. Keith Weinhold 47:25 The preservation of independence is key. Neil Bhawa, this has been great, and a lot of people learn from you. You're a brilliant educator, as well as what you're doing in the multifamily space, and a lot of other places. So, if someone wants to connect with you, learn more about what you do. What's the best way for them to do that? Neal Bawa 47:43 So we built a website called Multi Family University. It's completely free. There is no subscription. There's no upsell. We do not have an educational product, but what we do is each year we have 8-12 webinars that we create with their extraordinarily good looking thanks to the use of AI. Yay, and we share them with an audience, and usually between 5000 and 1000 people attend our webinars each year, of which roughly 1% become investors with us. The rest, the remaining 99% just continue to get free access to data, and we cover every imaginable real estate topic: Single family, multifamily, industrial hotels, self storage, Airbnb, and even controversial topics outside of real estate, like climate change or impact of climate change and impact of AI. So you know, multifamily university is the best place you can go to, multifamily you.com/club It's a free club, and it's free forever. Keith Weinhold 48:42 Neal, it's been valuable to our audience. Thanks so much for coming back out of the show. Neal Bawa 48:46 Thanks for having me. Keith Weinhold 48:53 Oh, a terrific, wide-ranging chat with Neal. There, yes, this interesting 2022 divergence between single family and multifamily, the slowing birth rate, and how that won't really catch up with real estate in a big way for perhaps 20 plus more years. How single family rentals beat multifamily on the basis of tenant retention, and a lot more that we covered there, and he's got a good data driven timeline for apartments being back in favor by 2027 and 2028 After the interview, Neil and I chatted some more off Mike, and he would like to come back on the show next year. We're probably going to have him, because we have a lot more to talk about at that time. We can see if the multifamily market is really healing. Also, did you pick up on this? I wonder why, for his own home he would get a 15 year mortgage at 1.75% interest, so I'll have to ask him about that. That's surely a fantastic interest rate, but a 15 year loan rather than a 30 year that maybe he could have gotten at two and a half percent at the time. Well, 15 year probably. Is not the best use of capital, because it increases your equity position rapidly. When instead, those dollars could have been out in the market earning an actual return somewhere else. But he's a smart guy, he must have an answer. We can talk about that at that time. We've got a lot of terrific shows coming up here on the GRE podcast, specific learning episodes, where it's just me teaching you, as well as new guests and returning guests too. Until next week, I'm your host, Keith Weinhold. Don't quit your daydream. Speaker 2 50:35 Nothing on this show should be considered specific personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial, or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of Get Rich Education LLC exclusively. Speaker 2 51:03 The preceding program was brought to you by Your Home for Wealth Building, getricheducation.com.
QUOTES from the episode: "The people closest to the work often have the clearest view of what needs to change." "Codes do not become practical until field experience finds its way into the conversation." "Better data leads to better codes, and HERS® Raters are sitting on some of the most useful data in the industry." "The future of energy codes will be shaped not only in committee rooms, but also in crawlspaces, attics, and blower door tests." In this episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn welcomes Nathan Kahre of the National Association of Home Builders, Alex Smith of the International Code Council, and Kris Stenger of ICC for a practical discussion on the 2027 IECC, the emerging 2030 framework, and how energy codes move from model language to real-world adoption. Together, they explain how the IECC is developed, how consensus committees and public comments shape the process, and why input from HERS® Raters, builders, subcontractors, code officials, and consumers matters. The conversation highlights several important 2027 IECC updates, including clearer blower-door testing provisions, expanded recognition of ANSI/RESNET®/ICC 380, tighter ERI targets, performance-path changes, improved fenestration values, expanded energy credits, and a new energy audit requirement for large additions. The guests also discuss how state and local adoption varies widely, from formal code councils and rulemaking processes to state-specific pathways like Texas HB 1736. Most importantly, Nathan, Alex, and Kris encourage HERS® Raters to get involved. Whether through local home builder associations, RESNET® program engagement, ICC interested-party lists, or future participation in the 2030 IECC subgroup, raters can bring field data, practical experience, and clarity to a process that increasingly depends on verified performance. Kris's contact info: kstenger@iccsafe.org Alex's contact info: alsmith@iccsafe.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexsmithenergy/ Nathan's contact info: nkahre@nahb.org https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-kahre-94a779108/ ICC Committees: https://www.iccsafe.org/committees/energy-iecc/ https://www.iccsafe.org/membership/councils-committees/icc-committee-application/ The code adoption kit we discussed: https://www.nahb.org/advocacy/top-priorities/building-codes/code-adoption-kits/2024-International-Energy-Conservation-Code To the RESNET® community, we hear you and want to engage. Learn more at www.RESNET.us. For more info on this topic, contact RESNET at INFO@RESNET.US
This week on the Builder Marketing Podcast, Jason Mudd of Axia Public Relations joins Greg and Kevin to discuss how homebuilders can boost brand visibility and strengthen reputation through effective public relations strategies. https://www.buildermarketingpodcast.com/episodes/322-public-relations-strategies-for-home-builders-jason-mudd
In this IBKR Midweek Minute, Andrew Wilkinson speaks with Kevin Davitt, Head of Index Options Content at Nasdaq, about the relentless market rally, AI bubble comparisons, energy prices and investor sentiment. They also explore the surprising reaction to moon base headlines and why home builder stocks failed to participate in the broader market enthusiasm.
In this episode of the Elevate Podcast, Andrew Eagles, CEO of the New Zealand Green Building Council, joins the conversation to unpack how healthier, more energy-efficient homes can create major financial advantages for both developers and homeowners. From lower-interest development finance to green mortgage offers, Andrew explains how Homestar certification is helping builders access funding benefits while delivering warmer, drier, and more comfortable homes. Andrew shares practical insights into the Homestar process, common misconceptions around cost, and why many developments can achieve certification with only minor design changes. He also discusses the future of building standards in New Zealand, the growing influence of global green finance, and why energy performance ratings are likely to become a key part of every home sale. Packed with real-world examples, this episode is essential listening for builders, developers, and anyone interested in the future of residential construction in Aotearoa New Zealand.Useful links:The New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) Homestar™Free Homestar Design GuideInfometrics researchWhere else you can find usWebsite: https://www.masterbuilder.org.nz/Elevate Platform: http://elevate.masterbuilder.org.nzInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/masterbuildernz/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/registeredmasterbuildersYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmh_9vl0pFf0zSB6N7RrVeg
Homebuilder confidence improved in May as builders saw signs of stronger late spring housing demand, even with mortgage rates climbing back toward 6.6%. In this episode, Kathy Fettke breaks down the latest National Association of Home Builders sentiment report, what's driving renewed buyer activity, and why affordability challenges are still putting pressure on the housing market. You'll also hear why fewer builders are cutting prices, how incentives are still shaping the new construction market, and which regions of the country are showing the most strength right now. For real estate investors, this episode highlights what builder sentiment could mean for housing supply, buyer demand, and investment opportunities in the months ahead Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/18/may-homebuilder-sentiment-improves.html
Brian Belski joins Dan Nathan to break down why he still sees the S&P 500 moving higher — but warns a correction may come first. Belski explains why this is now an earnings-driven market, why the Mag 7 may begin to hand leadership to the other 493 stocks, and what could trigger the next pullback. He also shares his views on AI stocks, SpaceX/OpenAI IPOs, financials, industrials, housing, rates, and why he believes the market could still end the year with “an 8 handle.” Topics include:• Why Brian Belski expects a correction before another rally• The case for S&P 8,000 (and why it won't be a straight line)• AI enthusiasm, IPO mania & whether we're in a bubble• Why he's bullish on financials, industrials & select cyclicals• Treasury yields, housing, Walmart, Deere & the consumer outlook• What could actually trigger the next bear market Timecodes 00:00 Intro + Brian Belski Returns02:00 Inside Belski's New ETF (HIS) & Stock-Picking Strategy05:45 How Belski Nailed the S&P 7,000 Call08:30 Why 2026 Is an “Earnings-Driven” Market09:45 Why Belski Expects a Market Correction10:45 Mag 7 vs. The Other 493 Stocks14:00 Walmart Warning, Consumer Trends & Retail Risks17:15 Deere, Industrials & Why AI Could Benefit Old Economy Stocks20:00 Why Belski Still Likes Financials Despite Weak Performance21:45 Airlines, FedEx & The Transport Trade24:00 Housing, Homebuilders & What Happens If Rates Fall26:45 Will Treasury Yields Finally Move Lower?31:00 SpaceX, OpenAI & Anthropic IPO Risks33:00 Could AI IPOs Trigger a Market Shake-Up?39:00 The AI Trade: Bubble, Boom or Just Getting Started?44:00 What Wall Street Is Missing in Software & AI45:45 Timing the Next Market Correction48:00 What Could Actually Cause a Bear Market?49:45 Belski's S&P Outlook: Why He Sees an “8 Handle” This episode is sponsored by Fidelity Investments and the all-new Fidelity Trader+ platform. Try Fidelity's most powerful trading experience yet: www.Fidelity.com/TraderPlus Fidelity Investments and Risk Reversal are not affiliated. Views, opinions, products, services, and strategies discussed are not endorsed or promoted by Fidelity Investments. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC. Xxx —FOLLOW USYouTube: @RiskReversalMediaInstagram: @riskreversalmediaTwitter: @RiskReversalLinkedIn: RiskReversal Media
Hi, I'm John Sorensen, President of Evangelism Explosion International, and you're listening to Share Life Today. Homebuilders follow a pattern. It's called a blueprint. Chefs follow a pattern. It's called a recipe. Drivers follow a pattern. It's called a map. Patterns provide design and order and structure. Even the apostle Paul used a pattern in his spiritual teaching. “Follow the pattern of sound teaching you have heard from me” is the instruction that he gave to one of his students, Timothy. When it comes to explaining the Gospel to another person, a pattern is very important and helps us know what to say. The Gospel is not just our testimony or us talking about our church. The Gospel is a Biblical explanation as to why Jesus, and what He did on the cross, is so very important. We at EE have a pattern that teaches the key components of the Gospel, and I would encourage you to learn it, so you can share it and pass it on. For more resources on how you can prepare to share, visit our website at ShareLife.Today.
This week on the Builder Marketing Podcast, Julia Bocchese of Julia Renee Consulting joins Greg and Kevin to discuss Pinterest marketing strategies home builders can use to increase visibility and attract high-intent traffic to their website. https://www.buildermarketingpodcast.com/episodes/320-pinterest-marketing-strategies-for-home-builders-julia-bocchese
P.M. Edition for May 19. The legal liabilities of some of the biggest home builders in the U.S. have surged in recent years as buyers increasingly sue for what they allege to be shoddier, error-ridden homes. WSJ reporter Nicholas Miller discusses why this is happening more frequently and the impact this is having on the companies' operations. Plus, a document posted by the Justice Department today says the federal government will end all pending tax audits of President Trump and his businesses. And Carvana, the used-car titan, is expanding into selling new cars. We hear from Journal autos reporter Chris Otts about what this means for traditional auto dealers. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
KMOX's Megan Lynch talks with Bankrate Principal Analyst Ted Rossman about the latest numbers from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo.
This week on the Builder Marketing Podcast, Greg Bray of Blue Tangerine breaks down the shift toward AI visibility. Discover why traditional search is changing and get the actionable steps home builders need to take right now to stay ahead of the curve. https://www.buildermarketingpodcast.com/episodes/319-understanding-ai-visibility-for-home-builders-greg-bray
This week on the Builder Marketing Podcast, Sabine Steinbrecher of Hiveologie joins Greg and Kevin to discuss how educational marketing helps home builders create an unbeatable competitive advantage, build instant credibility, and shorten the sales cycle. https://www.buildermarketingpodcast.com/episodes/318-educational-marketing-for-home-builders-sabine-steinbrecher
Links & ResourcesFollow us on social media for updates: Instagram | YouTubeCheck out our recommended tool: Prop StreamThank you for listening!
Subscribe for ad-free episodes + bonus content: https://realestatemarketminute.supercast.com/ Instagram: @thesalibgroup Email: mark@thesalibgroup.com The latest home builder sentiment data is out — and it may be telling us more than the headline number suggests. In this episode, we break down the newest Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo, including the key components that matter most: current sales conditions, future expectations, and buyer traffic. But more importantly, we look at what this data is signaling beneath the surface. Home builders are on the front lines of the housing market — they see demand in real time before it shows up in home prices, inventory, or closed sales. That makes this one of the most important forward-looking indicators in real estate.
In this episode of Everyday Economics, we take a closer look at one of the most overlooked drivers of America's housing affordability crisis: government policy. Homebuilders say government fees, permitting costs, and local regulations are adding tens of thousands — even more than $100,000 — to the cost of a new home before construction even begins. We unpack where those costs come from, how they affect buyers, and why housing shortages are often the result of policy decisions rather than market failures.
Companies like AMD Inc. (AMD), Arm Holdings (ARM), and Qualcomm (QCOM) back autonomous driving start-up Wayve with a $600 million check. On the macro front, energy price fluctuations shake homebuilder confidence. Marley Kayden and Sam Vadas offer more insight into their final takeaways of the trading session. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Options involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. Before trading, read the Options Disclosure Document. http://bit.ly/2v9tH6DSubscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about
In this episode of the Elevate Podcast, Mark Metzger, Director of Metzger Builders, joins the conversation to share a behind-the-scenes look at the Registered Master Builders House of the Year Awards. With more than 35 years in the industry and multiple Supreme House of the Year titles to his name, Mark brings a unique perspective as both an award-winning builder and national judge.Mark unpacks how the judging process really works — from travelling across the country and assessing homes, to the detailed scoring system that evaluates workmanship, design, and degree of difficulty. He shares what makes a home stand out, the importance of consistency and craftsmanship, and how the competition continues to raise standards across the industry. This episode offers valuable insights for builders considering entering, and a fascinating look at what excellence in residential construction truly means in Aotearoa New Zealand. Useful links:Metzger Builders https://www.mblexcellence.co.nz/House of the Year Awards Where else you can find usWebsite: https://www.masterbuilder.org.nz/Elevate Platform: http://elevate.masterbuilder.org.nzInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/masterbuildernz/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/registeredmasterbuildersYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmh_9vl0pFf0zSB6N7RrVeg
The latest data is finally showing us the real-world impact of the "war shock," with skyrocketing oil prices officially putting an end to the recent cooling trend in inflation. Between those rising costs at the pump and a housing market that remains stubbornly stuck, renters are feeling the squeeze even as they find themselves staying in the rental pool longer. Inflation Resurges on Energy Spikes: Headline inflation jumped to 3.3% on an annual basis in March, fueled by a massive 21.2% monthly surge in gasoline prices (seasonally adjusted). It was the highest monthly increase in gas prices since the series began in 1967. While core inflation (excluding food and energy) cooled slightly to 2.6%, the increase in transportation and fuel costs is expected to trickle into consumer goods prices over the next 90 days. From a multifamily perspective, the higher costs are hitting at a time when many renters are deciding what budget they can afford for their next lease. Housing Market Gridlock Deepens: Existing-home sales dropped 3.6% in March to 3.98 million units. It was the second lowest level in the last 18 months according to the National Association of Realtors. Despite a brief dip in mortgage rates earlier this year, the impact of the conflict with Iran pushed 30-year fixed rates back toward 6.4%, effectively pricing out 1.4 million potential buyers based on estimates from the National Association of Home Builders. Explore our webpage for more insights and resources:https://bit.ly/Radix_Website
If you're a homebuilder, investor, or real estate agent, this episode will help you identify where to be cautious, where margins are getting squeezed, and why avoiding the wrong market right now may be just as important as finding the right one.
A surprising payroll report The quick war – not over just yet Food inflation coming Economics – a bright spot and surprising report last week Space issues – Space sewage PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter Warm-Up - A surprising payroll report - The quick war - not over just yet - Food inflation coming - Economics - a bright spot and surprising report last week - Space issues - Space sewage - 8PM - End of Civilization? Markets - March sucked - that is the report - 1st quarter results are in - we will discuss - OIL - UP - WTI and Brent rising - its only transitory - Market Manipulation - say it ain't so! Oil - Interesting note that WTI is trading higher than Brent - unusual - WTI ~ $116 Brent ~ $109 - Brent for immediate delivery in Asia $140 as being bid up for purchase NOW - WTI may have an edge because it is available and buyers also stocking up on that... - Europe running out of Jet Fuel - USA sending over a supply - also unusual BUT - 8PM ET - End of Civilization? - Or last minute miracle - with mystery negotiations - Pakistan requesting 2 week pause - with movement of ships through Strait - YES, we have a 2-week pause - no kidding! Crude down 15%, market indices up 2% ---- Wait - Negotiations will start Friday... (Friday?) In Process - In Theory - Framework - OPEC+ agrees in principal theoretical framework to increase output - OPEC+ eight members to raise quotas by 206,000 bpd for May Apple Foldable Flop - Apple shares sunk 2% after reports that the company's foldable iPhones may face delays. - Nikkei Asia reported that the company is facing engineering challenges in what would be the iPhone-maker's first foldable device. - Engineering problems they say.... Closing this Discussion - Bored with this....But... - OpenAI announced it closed its record-breaking funding round at a post-money valuation of $852 billion. - The round totaled $122 billion of committed capital, up from the $110 billion figure that the company previously announced. - OpenAI said it extended participation to investors through bank channels for the first time and raised $3 billion from individual investors. The 1st Quarter Misery - Microsoft lost almost a quarter of its value in the first three months of the year, its steepest quarterly drop since the 2008 financial crisis. - Concerns about the company include the return on investment for artificial intelligence build-outs and the adoption of Copilot. - The company's stock plunged 23% in the first quarter, a steeper drop than any of its tech peers or the Nasdaq, - Microsoft's earnings multiple hasn't been this low since the fourth quarter of 2022, when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT. - SAAS compaies got crushed - Adobe, Atlassian and ServiceNow all down more than 30% YTD - Financials, Consumer Discretionary and Homebuilders had tough quarter 1st Quarter Happiness - Energy Sector up 30% - Materials up 10% - Utilities up 10% - Oil up almost 100% - EM still positive for 2026 Latest Eco - Nonfarm payrolls rose a seasonally adjusted 178,000 in March, a reversal from the 133,000 decline in February and better than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 59,000. - The unemployment rate edged lower to 4.3%, though that was largely from a sharp reduction in the labor force. - Wages also rose less than expected, with average hourly earnings up just 0.2% for the month and 3.5% from a year ago. The annual increase was the lowest since May 2021. -Health care was responsible for much of the growth, with the sector adding 76,000 jobs. - March ISM Non-Manufacturing Index 54.0% vs. 54.9% Briefing.com consensus; prior 56.1% - - Overall, there is not much going on good or bad - just the same in US Economics ------ Next couple of months will show inflationary pressures Inflation - Tomatoes, strawberries, asparagus, veggies in general are moving higher - - - Tomato prices are rising, with significant increases driven by a 17%–21% tariff on Mexican imports, labor shortages, and supply tightening - Experts warn these factors could increase prices by up to 50% for consumers, especially during winter months, and recent reports indicate continued shortages and high costs through early April 2026 - Florida frost in Q1 and now UREA shortages during spring planing will cause even more problems and pricing pressure (inflationary) No View - Satellite imaging firm Planet Labs said on Saturday it will indefinitely withhold visuals of Iran and the region of conflict in the Middle East to comply with a request from the U.S. government. - Planet Labs will release images only on case-by-case basis for urgent or public interest needs - Satellite imagery of hard-to-reach areas useful for news media, researchers - Other providers like Vantor apply their own controls but were not contacted by U.S. government - Interesting potential for an edge in war if we can see them and they and they can't see us Dems probing stock trades - Two Democratic U.S. senators on Thursday called on Wall Street's top regulator and a Defense Department watchdog to prevent and investigate possible insider trading by government officials following a spate of market activity seemingly timed to President Donald Trump's announcements. - Reuters and others have reported that major moves over the last year in equity, commodities and prediction markets are consistent with the possibility that traders had advance knowledge of Trump's announcements concerning the war with Iran, tariffs and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, among other examples. - Repubs only care if Pelosi does trades and Dems only care if Trump related trades The Final Frontier - The Universal Waste Management System toilet on the Orion crew capsule has been giving the Artemis II crew some issues during their mission to the moon. - The toilet's problems included a pump that needed extra water to work and a potential buildup of ice blocking the vent nozzle that allows wastewater to drain out into space. --- For a while there was no urination allowed only space poops since on different disposal systems - NASA was able to fix the issue by positioning the Orion so that the toilet vent would "bake" in the sun and melt the ice, and the crew is now cleared to use the toilet for all purposes. ---More: The UWMS comes equipped with a funnel and hose for urination, and there is a seat with a hole for bowel movements. -------Since the astronauts are in microgravity, the toilet relies on air flow that pulls waste into the toilet and ensures the capsule stays clean. -------------The astronauts can also use footstraps and handles to stay in position. Earnings Season - Analysts have been increasing their earning estimates into the quarter - which is unusual as usually see declines into the prints (so that companies have easier hurdle) - The S&P 500 is expected to deliver 13.2% year-over-year earnings growth, marking a sixth straight quarter of double-digit gains. - Revenue is expected to grow 9.7%, the strongest pace since Q3 2022. - But what about the outlook????????????????? Mag 7 Earnings expectations - Of course The Magnificent 7 remain central to earnings growth and market direction. Nvidia (~127.7%) and Tesla (~124.9%) are driving outsized earnings expansion. Apple (~19.0%) and Microsoft (~17.2%) show solid but more normalized growth. Meta (~3.4%) and Amazon (~3.2%) are slowing, while Alphabet (~-6.9%) is expected to decline. Growth within mega-cap tech is becoming less broad and more concentrated in a few names. Just In - Remember in January with Medicare Advantage and Part D payment plans from governments were being cut? - Insurance company stocks got smacked... - Expectations were for a 4% or so raise and it came in flat - ON DHUNPLUGGED - (1/27/2026) we discussed that this was a game and would come back when finalized inline with expectations to show how great the benefit is to Medicare recipients (voters) ---- We added United HealthCare (UNH) to the Weekly Stock Pick game as a rare Purple pick - Now, final numbers announced and are projected to result in a net average increase of 2.48%, or over $13 billion in additional MA payments to plans in CY 2027. This expected increase includes consideration of the various elements that impact MA payments, such as growth rates of underlying costs, 2026 Star Ratings for 2027 quality bonus payments, and risk adjustment updates. - UNH and other names int he sector moving up nicely on the news - (Potential related stocks: UNH, CVS, MCK, CI, HUM, CNC, ALHC, MOH, ELV, THC, UHS, CYH, HCA, OSCR) France Gold - France's central bank has sold off the last of the gold it held in the United States Federal Reserve and replaced it with higher quality bars in Paris, taking advantage of rising prices to make nearly €13 billion as it upgrades its holdings. - Moved all holding back to France Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? ANNOUNCING THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN for NETGEAR Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt! FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS See this week's stock picks HERE Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter
Jay Meacham is the Go-To Mind Coach for home builders. He is a highly valued and committed executive coach, business strategist, and purpose-driven leader dedicated to transforming the lives of residential home builders and skilled trades professionals. Jay helps builders, tradespeople, and industry leaders go from burned out and boxed in… to bold, time-rich, and financially free.He grew up on an Iowa farm, worked his way through Fortune 500 leadership, and today serves the unsung heroes who shape our communities—homebuilders, contractors, tradesmen, and industry pros ready to build lives as strong as the homes they create.This work is deeply personal for Jay: he lost his childhood home to a fire, and that moment ignited his lifelong mission to serve families, create stability, and empower those who make homes possible.Jay coaches clients across the residential construction space who are ready to lead boldly, live deeply, and create impact that lasts beyond the job site.Learn more at https://coachjaymeacham.com/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/i-am-refocused-radio--2671113/support.Subscribe now at YouTube.com/@RefocusedNetworkThank you for your time.
Wondering how to sell more new construction?Curious about how to partner effectively with a home builder?You're about to learn the details of a partnership that's grown from selling 10 new homes in one market in 2017 to 550 new homes per year in multiple markets today!Learn how the #1 Century 21 real estate team in the world has integrated deeply and grown concurrently with one builder.Kate Robinson was one of the first three agents with Melnychuk Real Estate Group before transitioning to transaction coordinator, then operations manager. She shares with you tips for that agent-to-staff opportunity, details of the role, and metrics to pay attention to.Kate also highlights what top-performing agents do differently and the history, development, and foundation of their relationship with Akash Homes, a home builder and residential developer, to scale new construction sales across multiple markets.Watch or listen for Kate's insights into:Transitions from real estate agent to transaction coordinator to operations managerWhich agents are good fits for staff rolesExpansion from 3 agents to 17 agents, 4 staff, and 3 marketsDetails of an all-encompassing operations manager roleDetails of their tech stack and what they pay most attention toWhat top-performing agents do differentlyHow to earn a spot on the new build teamWhen and why they committed to one builder (after working with several)How to integrate deeply with a builder partnerTop projects for the year aheadAt the end, learn about William and Madison Stephens, indoor, outdoor, and on-sleeve plants, a 30-acre lot, and places to learn.More conversations on working with builders:→ Treasure Davis https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/real-estate-team-colorado-springs-treasure-davis→ Jonathan Campbell https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/how-to-drive-per-agent-productivity-jonathan-campbell→ Mike Hines https://www.realestateteamos.com/episode/form-real-estate-partnership-oyler-hinesConnect with Melnychuk Real Estate Group:→ https://www.instagram.com/melnychukrealestategroup/→ https://www.melnychukgroup.com/Mentioned in this episode:→ https://www.instagram.com/thecindergroup/→ https://thecindergroup.com/teamConnect with Real Estate Team OS→ https://www.realestateteamos.com→ https://linktr.ee/realestateteamos→ https://www.instagram.com/realestateteamos/
Foreign investment is pouring into the U.S. housing market—and it's coming from Japan. In this episode of Real Estate News for Investors, Kathy Fettke breaks down why Japanese homebuilding companies are buying American builders in billion-dollar deals, and what it means for the future of housing. According to Realtor.com, the U.S. is facing a housing shortage of millions of homes, while Japan is dealing with a shrinking population and slowing demand. That imbalance is creating a major opportunity. You'll learn why global capital is flowing into U.S. real estate, how these deals could accelerate homebuilding, and why smaller builders may become acquisition targets. Kathy also explains what this trend means for investors, including how consolidation could reshape the housing industry and impact supply.
Send us Fan MailMinnesota winters are relentless and physics will show no mercy! Today's episode brings back the classic MTGA format where Eric hits record without Andy knowing what the topic is. The guys cover dealing with Eric's frozen sewer and water as well as the silliness surrounding a simple battery change on the Transit. As always, thanks for listening. Send us your feedback or topic ideas over on our social channels!Eric Aune @mechanicalhub Andy Mickelson @mick_plumbNewsletter sign up: https://bit.ly/MH_email
Home builder confidence improved slightly in March, but the housing market is still facing pressure. In this episode, Kathy Fettke breaks down the latest data from the National Association of Home Builders, including a small uptick in builder sentiment that still remains in negative territory. With 64% of builders offering incentives and more cutting prices, it's clear that affordability challenges are continuing to weigh on demand. We'll also look at rising mortgage rates, renewed inflation concerns, and growing uncertainty in Washington as a major housing bill faces pushback. What does all of this mean for the spring housing market—and for real estate investors? Tune in to find out what signals builders are watching right now, and where the market could be headed next.
This week, we're featuring an episode of What's News in Earnings where we dig into companies' earnings reports and analyst calls to find out what's going on under the hood of the American economy. Financial results from homebuilders PulteGroup, D.R. Horton and Toll Brothers give investors a peek at the forces shaping housing markets across the country ahead of the all-important spring selling season. Wall Street Journal national housing reporter Nicole Friedman discusses insights into affordability and regional differences. Veronica Dagher hosts this special bonus episode of What's News in Earnings. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Builder confidence in the single-family housing market slipped again in February, according to the latest Housing Market Index from the National Association of Home Builders. The index fell to 36, marking the second straight monthly decline and signaling continued weakness in builder sentiment. Affordability remains the biggest challenge. High home price-to-income ratios, elevated land costs, and stubborn construction expenses are keeping many buyers on the sidelines. Even with incentives widely available, buyer traffic remains low. In this episode, Kathy Fettke breaks down what falling builder confidence means for housing supply, pricing power, remodeling demand, and real estate investors in 2026. If inflation eases and mortgage rates follow, conditions could improve — but for now, affordability continues to shape the market.
Bonus Episode for Feb. 20. Financial results from homebuilders PulteGroup, D.R. Horton and Toll Brothers give investors a peek at the forces shaping housing markets across the country ahead of the all-important spring selling season. Wall Street Journal national housing reporter Nicole Friedman discusses insights into affordability and regional differences. Veronica Dagher hosts this special bonus episode of What's News in Earnings, where we dig into companies' earnings reports and analyst calls to find out what's going on under the hood of the American economy. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices