A Buyer’s Summer Is “On” as Asking Prices See Steepest Decline Since 2017

0:00Real estate investors love to say that real estate is local. And today's headlines are proving that idea exactly. On a national basis, we're seeing asking prices drop faster than they have in years. But certain cities are seeing surging demand. And some places that are attracting new businesses are poised for a quick rebound. Meanwhile, a lot of the housing market feels stuck. But senior housing is a major bright spot that investors should be paying attention to. I'm Dave Meyer here with Kathy Feke, Henry Washington, and James Daynard. And today we're looking at where momentum is fading, where it's building, and all the headlines investors should be paying attention to next.

0:42This is On the Market. Let's dive in.

0:49Everyone, welcome to On the Market. I'm Dave Meyer. Today we have Henry, James Daynard, and Kathy Feke joining us. As usual, we're going to have four headlines today. And who will I pick on first? James, you have to go first. You know, I brought in an article because I'm about ready to put 15 homes to market right now. And it's all about how do you sell them quick? And I mean, besides if you're in San Francisco or kind of in Kathy's neck of the woods, things are not selling quick and they're selling for below. So you got to kind of prep your stuff right. So the article from real estate.com says after years of waiting, buyers are getting their summer.

1:28It's a hot buyer summer is what this is. So, you know, buyers, they can be who they want. They can do what they want. But what it talks about is national asking prices fell 2.5 % year over year in June to 430 ,000. This is the steepest annual drop since 2017, the last time that they tracked. But pending sales, there's a highlight, are up 3.7 % with a seven straight month of growth. I mean, what we're seeing is just really an affordability thing. The buyers are there. It's just right outside their reach. But I am seeing people kind of freaking out and cutting price a little too aggressive. And or it is so key right now to roll your price out at the right price and not get stale on market because the things that are going pending, at least what we see in our market, they're actually going pending fairly quick if they're priced well.

2:22But the ones that are overpriced out the gate are sitting flat and then they get stale. They rack up days on markets and it becomes the property where everyone thinks there's something wrong with it, even though it was just the price. You know, these are important things because there's a lot of negative energy out there right now. Like, oh, markets crashing. This is no, you're overpricing your homes. That's what it comes down to. Your rents are too high. You can't lease your spot. You're trying to sell your property. It's not selling because it's priced too high. And at the end of the day, besides new construction, there's still demand in a lot of different segments as long as you're priced accordingly.

3:01And this article, I mean, that stat alone tells a big story, right? Pending sales are up, but list price are coming down. Well, they're catching the magical middle, and that's where you have to be. And so, you know, all week I've been comping out these houses. I comped them out three different times because sometimes I got to look at it three different ways in three different time periods and go, OK, no, here's my price. And it's really comes down to three important things. What's the velocity in that neighborhood? What's the days on market? And what is your average from list to pending in the comps that you're using?

3:35The mistake that I see people making is they're cutting price before they look at that data. And they're giving away money because they just need to understand that it takes time. And so like right now, everything that we're pricing, even though we're pricing well, we're still anticipating 30 to 45 day market times. Because if your expectations aren't set right, you can make a bad decision. And once you start cutting and you start chasing your tail, buyers will beat you up. It could be a hot buyer summer because people are getting nervous. It is a hot buyer summer. Yeah, I think we should all get t-shirts.

4:08Hot buyer summer. But are the people you're saying cutting quickly, are they distressed? Are you saying flippers or just everyone? The ones I've seen the most cuts are the people that are either relocating out of the state and they have to move. Those people are going. And then the flippers are definitely the ones that are very irrational because they bought this property. They spent too much on the renovation because costs have been floating, right? Things are changing. Things cost more. You have issues with permitting. It takes longer. So they're pricing it to where they don't lose money at the gate.

4:43And maybe they should have just priced it accordingly. They're not chasing their tail. Because if you start cutting price, a meaningful price drop is 3 % to 5%. That's a big, big price drop when you're dealing with a million or$2 million house. But if you price it well at the gate, it will still move. And that's what the data is telling us. So you got to price accordingly in today's market, not about your performa, not what you want. What is it worth today? Yeah, this market is crushing new flippers who aren't great at underwriting or bad flippers who are just overpaying for deals. I mean, what we're seeing in this market is very similar.

5:19If it is priced right out of the gate and it's done well, like there's some that are priced right, but they're not done well. And so they get showings, but they don't really get offers because there's so many other properties on the market that are priced the same that are done better. So that's where people are struggling. And we're also seeing that there's a lot of buyers who need the affordability and want the affordability more than they want the home to look great. So what we've been doing recently is comping homes based on it just being fresh and clean so that I can price it much lower than what a full remodel would take and allow us to price it for.

6:02And they're selling those are selling better than remodeled flips because people are able to buy something more affordable. And, yeah, it might not be the best looking product, but they don't care about that right now. Now, what they care about is can I afford it? And I can fix up what I want to fix up when I want to fix it up. So you can't just put your house on the market for the number you need? Is that what you're saying? You actually have to understand market dynamics and price it accordingly? What you need has never mattered. I don't know why people think it does. This happens all over the place, too.

6:35You hear landlords do it, too. They're like, oh, I need to make this rent. I'm like, well, good luck. Sorry about your life. Yeah. You just haven't lived long enough. if you ever say that out loud. I used to get that question all the time when we'd sell a house. Like, well, you only paid this for the property. And I'm like, well, no, you're not seeing all the fees in there, but also, does it matter? I'm like, if I was losing money, would you bring that up to me? Would you pay more if I was losing money? No. So if I'm making money, what does it matter? But I think you're right. The thing that's lost in all of the media right now is home buyer demand is up and pending sales is up.

7:11even at a time when affordability has gotten worse in the last three months and mortgage rates have gone up. You know, I've said this a couple of times before, but I think we're seeing sort of like a lot of resilience in the housing market. I know it's not a good, healthy housing market, but considering that things have gotten worse and demand is still there and people are still transacting, I think we're kind of seeing a floor unless, you know, the unemployment gets really bad, but there's no evidence of that right now either. So I just think this is a good thing for investors. This is a stable base from which you can make decisions.

7:46But you have to make rational decisions, as James was saying. You have to learn how to price things right. Are you saying you have to be good at the business of flipping houses to make money flipping houses? I don't know. I don't claim to be a great flipper. But I do know as a buyer, it is a hot buyer summer. It is easier to be a buyer right now. I'm giving people all kinds of stuff they ask for on inspections. Oh, yeah. This is the time. I've been doing stuff I would have never done five years ago. That's the beautiful thing about being an investor. You can also be a hot buyer. Do you want to be a desperate seller or a hot buyer?

8:29All right. Let's move on to our next story. I'm actually going to go next because it kind of relates to what you were talking about, James, earlier and about there being demand. But affordability is really the challenge here. And this is a story that comes from Realtor.com. The headline is the housing cash crunch that has everyone pointing fingers. You can check out the article, but basically it's saying that people are stretched in other parts of their life. and this is creating challenges for the housing market. And I think when people hear the idea of demand in the market, like that word demand, they think that means who wants a house.

9:11That is not what it means. It's who wants a house and could afford to buy a house. And so what we have in this country right now is a lot of people who wanna buy a home but who can't afford it because other things are becoming more expensive. Just as an example, this is crazy, guys. I kind of was shocked. What do you think the average new car payment is right now per month? Average. $850. $600. $700 then. I'm going in the middle. $770. Oh, geez. Average. Insane. I don't understand that. What? But what it was saying,$770. It's crazy. But so the cool thing about this article on Realtor is they did the math and they figured if you bought that car that costs you$770 a month, that takes away$135 ,000 of your purchase price on a new mortgage.

10:03Now, I know everyone in the comments is going to go crazy. You don't need a$770 car. I agree. I'm not saying that you do. It's crazy though. People are spending that money and that creates this challenge of affordability. And you can't turn around and sell it. It's already devalued the moment you drive it off the lot oh it's way worse investment but i think it was just trying to show that people their money is going to other things and it's limiting who can participate in the housing market right now now some of those things are probably voluntary no one needs a 770 a month car but like the article does go on to talk about other things basically you know the cost of food or gas or health insurance or whatever child care those things.

10:49Yeah. Childcare. Absolutely insane. Those kinds of things are pulling people out of the housing market. And for me, I thought the big takeaway is one, like I've said many times the show, appreciation is going to be a little bit muted in the United States for a while. But I actually think this really hits rents, too. Like if you look at, you know, the savings rate going down, all these affordability challenges. Personally, I am going to count on lower rent growth for the foreseeable future until this turns around and we start to see wages go up. Because, man, whether they need to make these decisions or not, that is the average.

11:24That's what it is. And so money is not going to be going to housing if it's going to all this other stuff. Yeah. As I was researching articles for the show, one of the articles I came across said that there's a record number of people that are accessing the equity in their home because life is so unaffordable. So they're tapping into equity to be able to live. $47 billion in the first quarter of 2026. $47 billion. Yeah, it's a lot. Of people tapping into equity. So yes, it is affordability because people are taking that money. They're not always spending it on improving the home. They're consolidating debt because there's a lot of consumer credit card debt that people are struggling with right now.

12:03Because a lot of people are leveraging credit card debt to do normal everyday life too. So it does have a compounding effect and have an effect on the housing market. All right. Well, we got to take a break, but we got two more headlines when we come back. Stick with us. Quick word about a new pro perk you'll want to know about. Avon, if you're a homeowner, there's a good chance you're sitting on equity that you're not using. The problem is tapping into that usually means a cash out refi, a traditional second mortgage, or weeks of paperwork just to get approved. Avon built something different.

12:34It's a credit card, but it's backed by your home equity. So you get a lot of the rate benefits of a HELOC with the flexibility of a card you can use anywhere. Rates are typically well below a standard credit card. Approval is fast and mostly online, and you can use it for anything. A renovation, paying down high interest debt, or just have more breathing room in your budget. And if you're a BiggerPockets Pro member, there's an extra reason to check it out. Get approved for the AVEN card and you'll get a$400 statement credit after spending$400 on your AVEN card. Enough to cover your entire annual Pro membership.

13:06Head over to AVEN.com slash BiggerPockets to see if you qualify. Avon Financial, Inc., NMLS number 2042345. Cards issued pursuant to a license from Visa USA, Inc. by Coastal Community Bank. NMLS number 462289. Member FDIC, equal housing lender. Subject to approval. Terms apply. Visit avon.com for details. If I had to hire someone to join the BiggerPockets team, I wouldn't just be looking for someone who checks a few boxes on a resume. I'd want someone who understands real estate, can move fast, communicates well, and can jump into a fast-paced environment without missing a beat. When you need that kind of person, this is a job for sponsored jobs.

13:39Sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed are 95 % more likely to report a hire than non-sponsored jobs. That makes sense to me. In fact, people are finding quality hires on Indeed right now. In the minute I've been talking to you, companies like yours made 27 hires on Indeed according to Indeed data worldwide. Join the 3.3 million employers worldwide that use Indeed to connect with quality talent that fits their needs. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes. Less stress, less time, more results. When you need the right person to cut through the chaos, this is a job for Indeed-sponsored jobs.

14:19And listeners of this show will get a$75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status it deserves at indeed.com slash podcast. Go to indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need the right hire fast? Then this is a job for Indeed-sponsored jobs. Are you looking for a simpler way to find your next investment property? Lenar Investor Marketplace is a free platform built for real estate investors. Create an account and get access to investor-ready new construction homes, plus real-time data on projected rents, returns, and neighborhood insights.

15:01Everything is one place, so there is no need to piece together information from multiple sites. There's also support for financing and property management to help make the process easier from start to finish. Create a free account at biggerpockets.com slash Lennar and start analyzing deals with more clarity today. Again, that's biggerpockets.com slash L-E-N-N-A-R to sign up now. Please consult your own legal and tax advisors to evaluate the risks of any real estate transaction. Lennar is an equal housing opportunity builder.

15:37Welcome back to On the Market. I'm here with Kathy, James, and Henry going through today's headlines. Who's up next? Kathy. All right. I am going to quiz you guys. GoDaddy reveals the 2026 most entrepreneurial cities. Ooh, okay. What city do you think has had the fastest entrepreneurial growth this past year? Atlanta, Georgia. Dallas. All right, James. I'm going San Francisco. I think it's booming. Yeah, that is true. I was very surprised and they were too. San Antonio, Texas was the fastest growing. I thought that was interesting. And I'm guessing it's because Austin's expensive. So if you want to start a business, you'll just be nearby in San Antonio where the average home price is$278 ,000.

16:23Yeah. It's only an hour and a half or so to get to Austin. San Antonio is a sneaky, huge city. It's the eighth biggest city in the United States. It's massive. Yeah. So it's affordable and yet near one of the epicenters, Austin, of entrepreneurial growth. So that was great because we have our Build to Rent community there that we're just breaking ground. And hopefully it'll be up and running just in time for all these new businesses. And what was interesting is it said San Antonio emerges as the nation's top. And for each business that is formed, five new jobs are created. A lot of people don't realize it really is.

17:01America is built on small business. So most of the jobs are created by small business owners. So that's cool. Like one new business, five new jobs. That's so cool. It's so cool. Now that the city that had the most was Miami. Again, no state income tax. Really? It was over 36 ,000. How many of them are crypto businesses driven by guys in a Lamborghini? AI consulting companies. Yeah, exactly. Right. Yeah. And then some of the cities that were surprising was Washington, D.C., which is you wouldn't think of as necessarily entrepreneurial, but that was up high. And then not New York City, but the Bronx.

17:40It's in New York City. I mean, not Manhattan. Yeah. All right. Which, again, makes sense if you want to be near it. I'm looking at your list now. Tampa was on my list to guess. That was number eight. You also have Milwaukee. I like that. I like seeing the Midwest represented here a little bit. El Paso. Albuquerque. Yeah. What? That might be the first time we've mentioned anywhere in New Mexico on the show. When you look closely, it's only 1 ,200 new businesses there, but it's just picking up speed. So it doesn't even compare with the 36 ,000 in Miami. But it's on the map. I like this though, Kathy.

18:19People always ask, how do you pick markets? Job growth. Job growth is like the number one thing. It is a reflection of population growth and it also brings population growth at the same time. So it's one of these positive spirals that create for a place. So like look for places that have job growth. And I'm with you, Kathy. People, you know, everyone thinks there's like layoffs in the economy because Meta is laying off people in Amazon. More than half the country is employed by small business. Like that is the American economy, the engine of normal people. And most of GDP comes from small business when we're not spending $500 billion in data centers every quarter.

18:57But that is really the reflection of a healthy, good local economy. So I love this list. This is great. Awesome. All right. Well, we got one more story for you. I can't even remember who I've called on yet. So we're going to take a break. And when we come back, we'll have one more headline. Finding a strong rental property usually takes time, research, and calculated risk. Lennar Investor Marketplace helps simplify all of that. With a free account, investors can browse new construction homes built for rental potential alongside real-time data showing estimated returns, expenses, and local market insights.

19:33It's all in one dashboard, making it easier to compare opportunities and move when the right deal shows up. Go to biggerpockets.com slash Lennar to create a free account and take a look. That's biggerpockets.com slash L-E-N-N-A-R. Sign up for free and start exploring this smart investing opportunity today. Please consult your own legal and tax advisors to help evaluate the risks of any real estate transaction. Lennar is an equal housing opportunity builder. A lot of insurance companies compete on one thing, speed. But if you're protecting an investment property worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, should speed really be the priority?

20:12NREG believes strong coverage starts with understanding the property, the risks, and the realities of ownership. That's why they don't rush the process. Their policies are designed for real-world claims, not just quick quotes. If you want insurance built to protect your investment when it matters most, visit nreig.com slash bplc and learn more today. An Airbnb deal can look great on paper and still become an expensive mistake. B &B Calc makes the numbers prove the deal. Use B &B Calc's market map to browse over 10 million Airbnb and VRBO listings, compare cities by revenue and gross yield, spy on top operators, and build comp sets.

20:51See how adding amenities like hot tubs or EV charges can boost your revenue. Enter any address to generate a complete property report. B &B Calc's AI visually analyzes nearby listings to estimate what it could earn and uses local data to estimate what it will cost to run. Find the best market, choose the right comps, and know the return before you buy. Start your 7-day free trial at bnbcalc.com and use code BIGGERPOKETS to lock in 20 % off for life. What is Toyota affordability? It all starts with buying smart, and your Toyota dealer has great deals available to qualified customers on reliable cars and SUVs, including the redesigned RAV4, spacious Grand Highlander, sporty Camrys, and Corollas.

21:39It means driving for less, with efficient hybrid and plug-in hybrid options available throughout the lineup, extending your overall driving range, and delivering great MPGs, saving you money at the pump. And it means trading for more. Toyota is known for building long-lasting vehicles, and as the best resale value brand, according to Kelly Blue Book, your Toyota can be worth thousands more than average when it's time to trade in. That's Toyota affordability. Buy smart, drive for less, and trade for more. Shop toyota.com or your local dealer for deals and details. Vehicle projected resale value is specific to the 2026 model here.

22:15For more information, visit kellybluebookskbb.com. Toyota brand average resale value is 53 % versus the average vehicle at 45%. Toyota, let's go places.

22:28Welcome back to On the Market. I'm here with Kathy James and Henry, who's got our last story of the day for us. What do you got? Yes, I have an article from Luminant, and it is a senior housing article. So it's saying senior housing is the best performing real estate asset class that nobody is talking about. It says that senior housing delivered a 17.3 % total return last year. And that is driven, obviously, by demographics. It is saying that 76 million people are baby boomers that were born between 1946 and 1964. And right now, the oldest baby boomers have turned or are turning 80 in 2026. And that is what's driving this demand for senior housing.

23:15At age 80, that's the threshold for senior housing. Before 80, most people are mostly independent. So they stay at home or they're in more of like a golden girl's house or some sort of active adult community. But once they hit 80, the need for more structured or assisted care really starts to kick in. And so now that the oldest boomers are hitting that threshold, they have started to take up a lot of these beds. And what the article is also saying that the age of 75 plus boomers is expected to grow more than 4 million people by 2030, which is going to increase the demand for beds even more. And right now, as we sit, there aren't enough beds to satisfy the demand of the aging boomers.

24:04And so for those who have positioned themselves to have assisted living facilities and provide beds, especially ones that aren't feel like these people are living in a hospital. So not the big boxes, but some of the residential assisted living facilities. Those are doing very well because they're providing an option for people that doesn't feel like they have to go live in some hospital. Those beds are filling up fast. People are paying a pretty penny to have one of those beds. And so this sector of real estate is doing very well right now. And what the article also goes on to say is that we're just now scratching the surface in terms of potential here.

24:48So it's not too late to get in. Matter of fact, we're still early to get in for a lot of investors who can use this as a strategy in their markets. And I say investors who can use this is because I was on this train. I was going to do this, but it is very hard, dang near impossible to do in Arkansas. Arkansas is one of the two states where this is very, very, very, very hard to do. Can't do this here. But there is a lot of cities all across the country where this asset class is going to make people a lot of money in the coming years. Yeah. I know some people who are doing it and it is very lucrative, but it's a different kind of business.