If you've been watching real estate content lately, you've probably heard a fresh wave of people telling you rates are finally about to come down. In this video, I'll walk through why I'm reading it differently, and what it means for the deals in front of you.
Here's what happened. Headline inflation cooled to 3.5%, below the 3.8% forecast, and core eased to 2.6%. Energy prices fell as the Iran ceasefire took the pressure off, and the market immediately started pricing in cuts. On the surface, it looks like the all-clear.
But I've said the same thing for two years: higher for longer. One soft, energy-driven month doesn't undo the structural picture, and the Fed meets this week still expected to hold. Warsh has signaled he'll follow the data - and if energy flares back up, as it nearly did again this month, that clear path to cuts narrows fast.
So what does that mean for you and me? It means a lot of investors are about to underwrite their next deal on a cut that isn't promised. And it means the rest of us have to stay discriminating, factoring today's rates - not tomorrow's hopes - into every deal we look at over the next two to three years.
But here's what's also true: the opportunity is real. Distressed deals are still coming into the market at a basis where the cash-on-cash return actually works. And single-family residential, which tends to be less rate-sensitive than commercial, is softening in ways that are opening real windows.
Real estate isn't out of favor. It just rewards the investor willing to dig deeper and underwrite with a clear, discriminating eye.
This video breaks down how to think through all of it.
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