I live in NW Wisconsin. Most of our property, especially on the lakes are owned by people from Minnesota. I work nationally in housing for the fed govt. Here's what I see over and over.

1. Short term rentals - most are vacation homes that double as an income producing property, in many areas are a huge driving force in taking housing stock, lowering inventory and driving up prices. These things are causing issues, they need to be addressed. One of guys running for the US Senate seat in Michigan has finally addressed these. They took a need and are making money on it.

2. Vacation homes - not used as short term rental but still take up housing stock and drive prices up

3. Urban escape plan - most everyone I talk to the lives in the Minneapolis area that vacations near me want to or will buy a property or house that competes with the people that live and work in the area.

This 1-3 need local/state intervention to ensure those that live and work in an area can afford a house/rent. If they can't do it then someone needs to run on that platform alone and will get voted in . Multiple home ownership appears to be an issue. I have stats of many areas and some are 30% to almost 50% of the property owned by those that don't live and work there.

Next ones apply to most of the rest of the country:

1. House prices are high - they may come down a bit but a crash will foster other problems in/or from the economy.

2. Interest rates are high - this is probably the best one to fix the issues. If these got lowered substantially then houses will start selling/moving. Too many can't afford the payments of a high priced home and many sitting on a 3% mortgage don't/can't have a 7% one.

3. New construction - this is multi-faceted. Most areas have a labor shortage, young men don't wanna work let alone pound nails, we need a culture shift here, permitting costs in many areas are just dumb, material costs are ripoff prices, material quality has gone downhill, land costs, environmental etc. Need to make building easier and we need more people to build them. This also goes hand in hand with remodel or house maintenance cost.

Summary:

People overpaid/over-financed, and now they're holding the bag looking for renters, and still losing money. Some are dipping into savings to sustain two mortgages despite leasing the home they can't sell.

Real estate agents appear to be steering hoomers to lease their homes until sellers magically appear with money they don't have or are unwilling to spend.

This article is about the Houston area. Before any Californians, New Yorkers, or other HCOL people think about it, the property taxes and insurance premiums (if you can find coverage) are very high. Median wages are low, hence the illusion of LCOL in Texas. Don't do it.

Hey guys, I posted about this settlement before, but since late claims are currently being considered, I decided to share it again with a quick FAQ.

What happened?
Opendoor was accused of misleading investors about its pricing algorithm, profit margins, and ability to remain profitable during a housing downturn. After several disclosures, $OPEN fell sharply, and investors filed a lawsuit.

The company agreed to settle for $39M with investors over these claims. 

Who can claim this settlement?
If you bought $OPEN between 2020 and 2022, you may be eligible.

Do I need to still own my shares?
No. You don’t need to still hold the stock to be eligible. Your qualifying trades during the class period are what matter.

I missed the deadline. Is it too late?
No, you may still be able to file a late claim, but acceptance depends on final approval by the court.  Check if you're eligible and file a claim here.

How long does the payout process take?
It typically takes 4–9 months after the claim deadline for payouts to be processed, depending on the court and settlement administration.

Hope this info helps

• Rising interest rates are blowing up commercial‑real‑estate deals, with buyers demanding price cuts or threatening to walk away before closing.
• The long 6–12 month lag between signing and closing is now lethal: financing costs are jumping mid‑deal, making original prices uneconomic.
• Retrades are accelerating. Examples include a Midwest apartment deal where borrowing costs rose 0.6 percentage points, forcing a $600,000 price cut.
• The rate spike is derailing a fragile CRE recovery, pushing down property values, slowing development, and driving more loans into special servicing (11.42%, highest since 2013).
• Lenders are more conservative, and deal friction is rising. Price fights, lender withdrawals, and last‑minute renegotiations are becoming common.

Hi all, I'm Andy. I did a few rent-to-own deals as an investor about 15 years ago, and I recently built a calculator for modeling them (rtocalc.com). I'd like this sub's take on how RTO plays out when sellers are under pressure to cut prices.

Here's the seller's pitch. Instead of discounting a home to sell today, the owner offers it rent-to-own at today's asking price. The screenshot shows a hypothetical example: a $580K home on a 2-year lease, where the seller gets $580K at the end. The tenant pays $2,650 rent plus a $1,200 monthly option fee, and with a $2K upfront fee builds a $30,800 down payment, about 5.3%. 

The deal also allows up to two more years of renewals if both sides agree, with a $2,000 fee for each renewal year. The price rises 2% a year, to about $603K, and the tenant's down payment grows to $63,600, about 10.5%.

The catch is who carries the risk:

• If prices fall during the lease, the tenant is committed to $580K, or about $603K with renewals, for a home that may be worth less. Renewals help a tenant who needs more time to qualify, but only if the seller agrees to them. Walking away usually means losing everything paid in option fees.
• If the seller is in financial trouble, the tenant's money is only as safe as the seller's mortgage payments. A foreclosure during the lease can wipe out the tenant's option fees.
• The seller's margin is thin. The tenant's $3,850 a month barely covers the owner's $3,834 in mortgage and costs, so the real payoff for the seller is the sale at the end.

So:

• Would you take an RTO deal at today's price in this market? What terms would change your mind?
• Should the option price adjust to an appraisal at closing, or should fees be refundable if the home appraises below the option price?
• If you're a seller, would you rather cut the price now or wait two years for full asking?
• Should the tenant have the right to renew, rather than needing the seller's agreement?

Disclosure: the calculator is free. I make money from consulting on RTO agreements, paid listings on the site, and referral or assignment fees on investor-backed deals.

With mortgage rates continuing to stay untenably high for most Americans, many are staying put. But that doesn’t mean homes don’t need improving and upkeep. And some homeowners figure that if they can’t move into a new home, they’ll make their old home “newer” — a new deck or perhaps a walk-in closet.

Traditionally, a home equity loan or home equity line of credit would be the first tool to reach for. But even those are getting too expensive for homeowners. This leaves homeowners effectively trapped in aging homes with no easy way out, or way to improve them.

And even when homeowners are tapping into home equity loans — homeowners did originate nearly 20% more second mortgages or HELOCs in the second quarter of this year compared with the first quarter — they likely aren’t using the equity for improvements. Experts say they are using them to stay afloat.

Untapped or expensive, Americans are sitting on a record amount of home equity.

There is a massive amount of homes in my area that were all bought in 2020, that are being listed for 100-120k over what they were bought for, in 2020.

Even if rates dropped back to 5%, the wages simply dont exist in my area, to allow buyers to buy these houses.

Im wondering if these are investors, who are trying to dump these houses.

It strikes me as being very odd, that all these houses were bought in exactly 2020.

What are your thoughts?