Investing in Real Estate: Minimize Risks, Maximize Returns

In turbulent economic times like today, there are also numerous opportunities to find discounted real estate to purchase just like back during the 2008 to 2012 era. In this Zoom meeting presentation, I will cover topics like how to boost credit scores, how to refinance out of distressed forbearance-like situations, and how to buy and hold or flip distressed properties.

Rising Home Inventory Numbers

Has there ever been a time when there is so much contradictory published data about real estate trends that can be viewed as both positive and negative at the exact same time as most metropolitan regions hit all-time record price highs?

There were 4,000,000 homes listed for sale as active inventory in 2007. Here in 2025, there are approximately 1,500,000 homes listed for sale. However, there are also 45 million more people across the nation today.

The vacant and distressed shadow inventory supply of U.S. homes absolutely dwarfs the national home listing inventory supply by a significant multitude. A recent study conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that the average redefault rate over 12 months after a previous loan modification approval for a subprime mortgage-like mortgage was 56%.

Many homeowners have been able to keep modifying their delinquent mortgages for more than four years without making one payment. At some point, lenders and loan servicing companies will start filing foreclosure on a larger scale and the national home listing inventory supply will start to rapidly rise.

There were 500,000+ more U.S. home sellers than buyers in June 2025. How will these number trends look later this fall and winter?

Are Lower Rates on the Horizon?

Almost every housing boom and bust cycle over the past 100 years was directly related to access to third-party money sources. When rates are low and the loan approval process is more flexible, home values tend to be high. Conversely, higher rates and tighter loan approval processes usually make home prices stagnant or declining.

The average 30-year fixed rate over the past 50 years was about 7.7%, which is actually much higher than today's 30-year fixed rate average that is about 1% lower as of the first week in August 2025.

The peak high 30-year fixed rate over the past 50 years reached 18.63% in October 1981, while the low rate average fell to 2.65% in January 2021.

On August 7, 2025, the 30-year fixed rate fell to a 6.63% rate average, as per Freddie Mac and the NAR. This was the lowest 30-year fixed rate average in about 10 months dating back to October 2024.

To learn more details, please read my recently published articles:
Are Lower Rates on the Horizon?
Why Are Home Inventory And Prices Both Increasing?

I hope to see you there on September 5, 2025.

Rick Tobin
Realloans.com
Learnrealestate.net
Socalrealestateclub.com