Orca Home Solutions, 495 N. Bridge Street, Suite 6441, Bridgewater, NJ (2026)

06/02/2026

‼️Mortgage refinance demand drops 18% as rates hit highest level since August‼️

🔹Mortgage rates continued their climb last week, making it harder for current homeowners to save on a refinance. Potential homebuyers also pulled back a bit, causing total mortgage application volume to drop 8.5% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

🔹The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $832,750 or less, increased to 6.65% from 6.56%, with points rising to 0.65 from 0.60, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment. The 30-year fixed rate has climbed 30 basis points over the past five weeks to its highest level since August 2025.

Refinance demand took the hardest hit, with those applications down 18% for the week. They were still 19% higher than the same week one year ago. Last year at this time the 30-year fixed rate was 33 basis points higher.

🔹“There were large declines in applications across loan types – conventional refinances were down 14 percent, along with an 18 percent decrease for FHA applications and a 34 percent decrease for VA applications. Overall, refinance applications accounted for 38 percent of applications, the lowest share since June 2025,” said Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at the MBA, in a release.

Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 0.4% for the week and were just 5% higher than the same week one year ago.

🔹“The average loan size for a purchase application reached another survey high at $473,600, as borrowers with smaller loan sizes were less active given the higher rate environment and its negative impact on their purchasing power,” Kan added.

Mortgage rates moved very slightly lower to start this week, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily. Investors saw a potential de-escalation in the war with Iran, which caused bond yields to drop and mortgage rates to follow.

🔹Key Points🔹

▫️The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $832,750 or less, increased to 6.65% from 6.56%.

▫️Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 0.4% for the week and were just 5% higher than the same week one year ago.

▫️Refinance applications accounted for 38% of applications, the lowest share since June 2025.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/27/mortgage-refinance-demand-drops.html

05/29/2026

‼️Can You Still Flip Houses in 2026? We Asked Someone Who’s Done It 60+ Times⁉️

Everyone’s got a take on flipping right now. Half the internet will tell you the math is dead, margins got squeezed out, rates broke the model, and you should move on. The other half is posting check photos on Instagram.

Somewhere in the middle is the truth. And the truth sounds a lot like Leka Devatha, a Seattle-based investor who left a corporate career at Nordstrom to flip houses full-time and has closed over 60 deals in one of the country’s most unforgiving markets.

We put her in the “Texting With” hot seat and asked the questions most investors are actually thinking but are too polite to ask in the group chat.

🔸“How Do You Even Find a Flip That Pencils in Seattle Right Now?”

You get closer to the deal than everyone else.
Leka’s exact words: “Off-market relationships, speed to close, and knowing your rehab numbers so you can see margin where others see risk.” When every serious buyer is running the same MLS search and submitting the same offer, the edge lies in the prep work you did before the listing ever went live.

The people who say the math doesn’t work in Seattle are usually running the math on someone else’s deal. The investors still closing are doing it because they underwrite faster, move faster, and trust their numbers more than the competition does.

🔸You budget for cosmetics, and when you demo the kitchen wall, behind the wall is a problem that has been living in that house since the Clinton administration. Now your light refresh has a structural component and a permit timeline.

As Leka puts it, “What looked like a cosmetic project reveals structural or systemic issues mid-demo, the schedule stretches, carrying costs stack up, and by the time you exit, you’ve eaten your margin in holding costs, overruns, and a slow market.”

The honest fix: Build contingency in from day one, and price scope discoveries before they price you out.

🔸“If a New Flipper Had $100K and One Shot, What Should They Actually Buy?”

Leka says, “A dated but structurally sound single-family in a proven resale neighborhood.” Cosmetic-only scope. Purchase price low enough that your $100K covers the down payment, rehab, carrying costs, and a buffer you actually intend to use.

The ARV needs to be defensible, with “comps that closed in the last 90 days,” not from 2022 that you found just to make the spreadsheet look better.

The first deal is not supposed to be the one that retires you. It’s the one that teaches you what carrying costs actually feel like, what real scope creep looks like mid-demo, and whether you have the stomach for it before you go bigger. A boring deal with a real profit beats an exciting deal with a negative lesson.

🔸“How Do You Actually Fund a Flip Today? What’s the Stack?”

Hard money is still the backbone, typically 70% to 75% LTV on purchase with rehab draws built in. It’s running 10% to 13% today, which is not cheap, but as Leka says, “The speed is worth it when you’re competing for a deal.”

Having a lender you’ve already closed with matters more than the rate on paper. They pick up the phone. They move.

Hard money rarely covers everything, so private capital fills the gap: down payment, equity cushion, and closing costs. “This money moves on trust, not underwriting,” Leka says, which means you need to earn it before you need it.

🔸“You Left Nordstrom to Flip Full-Time. What’s the Part Nobody Talks About?”

Leka says, “The income gap nobody prepares you for.”
Not just financially, but psychologically. At a corporate job, you get a paycheck every two weeks, whether the quarter was good or bad, and as Leka describes it, “your self-worth gets quietly tied to that stability.” When you flip, you can do everything right and still wait eight months to see a dollar.

Her reframe on the whole thing: “The leap isn’t really about courage; it’s about rewiring how you measure progress when there’s no external validation telling you you’re on track.” That part takes longer than most people think, and it doesn’t come up in the YouTube videos about your first flip.

🔸“You’ve Done 60+ Flips. What Did You Use to Obsess Over That You Don’t Even Think About Anymore?”

Comps. Early on, Leka would agonize over every sale within a mile, second-guess the price per square foot, and build elaborate spreadsheets trying to “science my way to certainty.” Now she can walk a property for 20 minutes and land within a tight range of what it will sell for.

Because, as she puts it, “The real comp isn’t a spreadsheet. It’s 12 years of watching what buyers actually do when they walk into a room.”

That kind of pattern recognition doesn’t come from a course. It comes from closing deals when you’re scared, losing money once in a way that stings just enough, and showing up again anyway.

The spreadsheet is still there. It’s just not running the show anymore.

Leka Devatha is a Seattle-based real estate investor and flipper with 60+ transactions and a track record in one of the country’s most competitive markets. Follow her on Instagram:

Want more investor conversations like this one? The BiggerPockets Investor Brief drops three times a week with deal breakdowns, market news, and the real numbers behind real portfolios.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/can-you-still-flip-houses-in-2026-we-asked-someone-whos-done-it-60-times

05/26/2026

‼️Rising mortgage rates cause surge in demand for riskier loans‼️

🔹Mortgage rates continued to climb higher last week, dampening demand for loans from both current homeowners and potential homebuyers. They also pushed consumers to riskier loans that offer lower rates.

Total mortgage application volume dropped 2.3% from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.

🔹The weekly average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $832,750 or less, increased last week to 6.56% from 6.46%, with points decreasing to 0.60 from 0.63, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment. That is the highest rate in seven weeks.

“Ongoing concerns around inflation from higher fuel costs combined with rising concerns over global public debt pushed Treasury yields higher in the U.S. and abroad last week,” said Joel Kan, an MBA economist, in a release.

🔹The adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, share of total applications rose to nearly 10%, the highest since October 2025. ARMs are considered riskier because their rates reset after a fixed period. The average rate on a five-year ARM last week was 5.76%.

Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 4% for the week and were just 8% higher than the same week one year ago. Last year at this time, mortgage rates were closer to 7%.

🔹Applications to refinance a home loan fell 0.1% from the previous week and were 35% higher than the same week one year ago.

“Overall applications were down to the lowest level in five weeks as purchase borrowers pulled back across conventional and government loan types,” added Kan.

Mortgage rates continued to rise this week, hitting the highest level since last July, according to a separate survey from Mortgage News Daily.

🔹Key Points🔹

▫️The weekly average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $832,750 or less, increased last week to 6.56% from 6.46%.

▫️The adjustable-rate mortgage, or ARM, share of total applications rose to nearly 10%.

▫️Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home dropped 4% for the week.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/20/rising-mortgage-rates-cause-surge-in-demand-for-riskier-loans.html

05/22/2026

‼️Cash Flow Isn’t Everything: What Smart Investors Look For Before They Buy‼️

Many years ago, I bought a rental property that passed the “2% Rule,” where the rent was over 2% of the purchase price.
I lost money on that property.

Even when properties cash flow decently, they can still underperform other options on the table. As you ratchet up your game as a real estate investor—active or passive—keep an eye on the following as you evaluate cash flow and more.

🔹Tax Benefits

Some investments offer outstanding cash flow but no tax benefits.
That’s not a deal-breaker, of course. It’s just a trade-off to be aware of.

For example, one of my favorite funds pays quarterly distributions at 16%. Our co-investing club has invested in it several times now, and it’s paid us like clockwork for years. But we pay taxes on those distributions at our regular income tax rate.

Fortunately, we also vet and invest together in plenty of equity deals, such as syndications that come with enormous tax write-offs. That helps offset the taxes on the other investments we go in on together.

🔹Hidden Cash Flow Killers

Not every expense is easy to predict on paper.

That’s precisely why that “2% Rule” property I mentioned didn’t actually cash flow, and I lost money on it. In that case, it was high crime rates, vandalism, high turnover rates, and a generally horrible tenant base.

“I want to know what the neighborhood is doing, what the exit options are, and how much hidden risk is sitting inside the deal,” explains professional investor Austin Glanzer of 717HomeBuyers.com in a conversation with BiggerPockets. “A property can show positive cash flow on paper, but if its condition, taxes, insurance, or tenant base are working against you, that cash flow can disappear quickly.”

It’s a rookie income-investing mistake: missing the “invisible” but very real expenses that can derail a deal.

🔹Unpredictable Expenses

I once bought a property only to discover that much of the wooden framing behind the walls had rotted. I didn’t come out of that unscathed, as you can imagine.

Noah Glatfelter sees this every day as he inspects houses through York Home Performance. “A rental may look good financially, but if the home is drafty, poorly insulated, or has old mechanicals, those issues can turn into tenant complaints, higher bills, and future repair costs. Smart investors look at the long-term condition of the property before buying,” he tells BiggerPockets.

🔹Long-Term Commitment

As Glatfelter alluded to, cash flow investments are long-term commitments. You lose tens of thousands to closing costs, which hit you both on the front and back ends when you sell.

To overcome those losses, you need to hold the property for many years of cash flow. And even then, you’re likely counting on appreciation to cover those two rounds of closing costs.

I don’t mind long-term investments in my portfolio. Many investments I make as a member of my co-investing club are around five-year commitments. But liquidity and time commitment are still factors in the investing decision, and some growth-oriented investments require shorter holds.

For example, we’re considering a preferred equity investment that will last no longer than three years. It won’t pay any distributions but will likely pay out over 20% annualized returns due to the extremely low cost basis alone.

Some deals are shorter than that. I’ve invested in a six-month note before. But investing along different timelines is one of the many ways I diversify my portfolio, as I invest $2,500-$5,000 at a time alongside other members of my co-investing club.

🔹Multiple Exit Options

Often, cash flow investments have only one exit option: selling to another cash flow investor.

That “2% Rule” property I mentioned? I couldn’t sell that property to a homebuyer. No one in that neighborhood qualified for a mortgage.

Safer investments allow for multiple exit strategies. For example, in my club, we’re looking at partnering with a niche investor who buys properties for tenant-buyers who put down a huge down payment up front, then sign lease-purchase agreements. The properties cash flow decently, but even more importantly, the operator comes out ahead no matter what.

If the tenant buys, the operator earns a margin. If they default, the operator evicts them and sells the property retail, and still comes ahead because the tenant forfeited their big down payment.

🔹Market Fundamentals Matter

If you buy properties in markets with weak population growth, employment, and community pride and values, you’ll end up with weak returns—no matter how the pro forma looks on paper.

“Sometimes the best deal is not the one with the highest cash flow on Day 1, but the one in an area where buyers and renters both want to be long term,” explains Dane Ohlen, a professional investor with Sell My Dallas House Fast, when speaking to BiggerPockets. “Investors need to think about long-term demand, appreciation, repair risk, taxes, insurance, and how easy it will be to sell if their plan changes. More demand offers more than one way to win.”

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/cash-flow-isnt-everything-what-smart-investors-look-for-before-they-buy

05/19/2026

‼️35% of Homeowners Won’t Sell at Any Price—And That’s Creating a Gold Mine for Small Landlords‼️

Millions of homeowners are clinging to their pandemic-era mortgage rates like castaways clutching driftwood. That stubbornness is resetting the rulebook for investors.

A new survey of 1,000 mortgage holders by Best Interest Financial and Clever Real Estate found that 35% of homeowners with a mortgage rate under 6% would not give it up for any reason whatsoever. Among those with rates under 3%, the figure jumped to 52%.

Nearly half—47%—of those surveyed said that they simply couldn’t afford a mortgage at today’s rates if they had to start over. The result is a housing market that, according to Fortune, has been frozen for three years.

🔹The Lock-In Effect Is Not Going Anywhere—Here’s What That Means🔹

Since 2022, annual home sales have dropped to their lowest level—approximately 4.1 million—since the mid-90s, when the U.S. population was 22% smaller, according to the Wall Street Journal.

There is a desperate need for more housing. However, according to data from Intercontinental Exchange cited by the Journal, 54% of primary homeowners are sitting on rates of 4% or lower—and, as the Best Interest Financial and Clever Real Estate survey discovered, many of them do not intend to sell.

For landlords currently sitting on rentals, here’s what that means: Every family priced out of buying is another family looking for a quality rental.

The Trump administration put the housing shortage at 10 million units, while Realtor.com and Zillow had it at half that amount last year.

It’s all about supply and demand. Demand far outweighs supply, which means landlords are sitting on one of this economy’s most prized assets: housing.

🔹Affordability Continues to Keep Buyers Away🔹

Said Dr. Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist, in a Realtor.com press release:

“For many younger households, affordability challenges and limited inventory are still making homeownership difficult to achieve. Older millennial buyers are now entering middle age, and with that comes a shift. This cohort is now the highest-earning generation of homebuyers, buys the largest homes, and is most likely to have children living with them. Those traits were once more commonly associated with Gen X buyers, who are now increasingly looking toward empty-nesting and retirement.”

However, further complicating the housing supply chain is that baby boomers, those aged 61-79, are transacting most of the real estate—accounting for 42% of buyers and 55% of sellers—leveraging their considerable home equity to do deals, leaving younger buyers locked out.

Added Lautz:

“Baby boomers are at a point in life when they have the flexibility to move, often with housing equity to help purchase their next home. In earlier years, baby boomers—like millennials today—may have moved because of a job change or the need for a larger home. Today, many baby boomers are embracing choice and moving to be closer to friends and family, to downsize, or to retire and enjoy a work-free lifestyle.”

🔹Mortgage Interest Rates Are Keeping the Market Frozen🔹

With interest rates still in the low-6% range with no end in sight, it seems likely prospective buyers will remain renting for a while yet.

“We forecast that mortgage rates will range between 6% and 6.5% this year, and our latest weekly data show it’s trending towards the upper end of that range,” Mike Fratantoni, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, told Bankrate.com in March.

While the Bankrate article alluded to a gradual crumbling of 3% interest rates as some owners were forced to sell due to growing families or job relocation requirements, it also quoted a report from insurance company First American that tied moving to a geographic location. Those in pricier states, such as California, were less likely to give up their low interest rates than those in less expensive locations.

🔹The Rental Market Fundamentals Are Holding Strong🔹

You’ve probably heard mixed reviews about the current rental market. ApartmentList.com‘s April 2026 report shows that rents are up month over month but down 1.7% year over year. This is due in part to the sharp increase in rents after the pandemic, economic complications, affordability issues, and the war with Iran.

However, it’s probably a temporary situation, given the overwhelming lack of housing, which is likely pushing rents up, as it has in the past few months.

The most recent BiggerPockets Pulse survey showed a slight downturn in optimism among landlords, as evidenced by slight rental decreases over the past year. However, long-term, with low inventory, high rates, and high prices, holding rental property remains almost inflation-proof because people will always need a place to live.

“Real estate is in a recovery mode,” Henry Chin, global head of research for commercial brokerage CBRE, told US News & World Report, but adds that the focus has shifted from price appreciation to steady income. “Investors should look at cyclical and structural points of view to pick the right assets and locations.”

Regarding the economic uncertainty posed by the Iran war, Chin said, “Developed countries are front and center of investors’ minds as occupier demand continues to recover,” adding that the “U.S. is more resilient than Europe,” which is more dependent on overseas oil than the U.S.

Other experts interviewed in the same article concurred. “Interest rates are just one piece of the puzzle, not the defining factor,” says Edward F. Pierzak, senior vice president of research at Nareit (the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts). “What matters most is the broader economic backdrop.”

The sentiment was echoed by Roland Chow, financial planner and portfolio manager at Optura Advisors in Burlingame, California, who said, “Investors should think of real estate as a diversifier to the portfolio and, in the current higher-interest rate environment, as an income source and inflation hedge.”

🔹Final Thoughts🔹

With a continual housing bottleneck and homeowners reluctant to part with low rates, now is a great time to buy if you can. However, it’s not a case of blindly throwing a dart at a map of the country and picking a spot.

The U.S. housing market is not monolithic. While there are always fluctuating cities, by far the best places to invest today are generally in the Midwest and Sunbelt, according to a recent Zillow analysis—with a smattering in the Northeast—assuming you want to keep away from pricier metros such as San Jose, San Francisco, and the New York tristate area.

In the current economic climate, lower price points are a key driver. “A huge component of buyer friendliness is affordability,” Kara Ng, a senior economist at Zillow, told CNBC. ”[The Midwest] was affordable before the pandemic, and it is affordable after the pandemic.”

Did you know that a BiggerPockets Pro membership comes with over $5,000 in potential annual savings through Pro Perks, including discounts on property management, banking, renovation supplies, and investor loans and insurance. Become a Pro today!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/35-percent-of-homeowners-wont-sell-at-any-price-and-thats-creating-a-gold-mine-for-small-landlords

05/15/2026

‼️18% of Landlords Are Not Raising Rent—But Should You?‼️

🔹Many landlords are playing the long game. That’s the conclusion drawn from a survey by rental property management platform Avail (Part of Realtor.com), a partner of BiggerPockets, in their 2026 Independent Landlord Survey.

The report found that 1 in 5 landlords had a standing policy of not raising rents for tenants despite increasing operating costs. The reasoning behind the reluctance to raise rents is the fear of vacancies, repairs, and re-leasing. In other words, “don’t risk losing a stable tenant for the sake of a few dollars more in extra rental income.” But is it a wise strategy? Let’s figure it out.

🔹Key Survey Insights

The survey revealed some fascinating insights:

▫️74.4% of landlords saw property ownership costs rise this year.

▫️18% of landlords maintain a strict policy of avoiding regular rent increases.

▫️78.3% of landlords chose communication and payment plans over legal action.

▫️Nearly 1 in 3 landlords intend to expand their portfolios over the next 24 months.

🔹The Cost Squeeze

The rising costs of property taxes and insurance have been on every landlord’s mind, and Avail’s data shows that this was true for 74.4% of landlords surveyed. However, only 44.3% of landlords who raised rents cited taxes and insurance as their primary reasons.

🔹The Retention Argument

Real estate investor Soli Cayetano told Realtor.com:
“Tenants don’t care about your expenses—they care about value compared to other available options. Vacancy is way more expensive than being slightly under market. When a property sits empty for an extra month, you’re not just losing that month’s rent—you’re still paying the mortgage, utilities, and other carrying costs.”

Other factors—aside from taxes and insurance—influencing a landlord’s decision to raise rents, according to Avail, were:

▫️Current local market trends: 40.7%
▫️A lease renewal: 32.3%
▫️Start of a new tenancy: 23.6%
▫️New pricing following upgrades and renovations: 21.2%
▫️Personal financial goals or investment targets: 4%

🔹These numbers align with the overall takeaway from Avail’s survey: Landlords are thinking long-term. Their data show that 32.9% of landlords plan to acquire additional property over the next two years, while only 6.6% intend to exit the market.

For expansion-minded landlords, stability is key. Maintaining steady revenue is essential for securing future loans and demonstrating competent stewardship of current portfolios. It also gives owners a certain peace of mind as they take on more risk/debt, and tenants.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/18-percent-of-landlords-are-not-raising-rent-but-should-you

05/12/2026

‼️Home Sales Barely Move as Inventory Constraints Persist‼️

🔹The housing market is sending some mixed signals this spring. Read more from NAR’s latest housing report.

Existing-home sales were mostly stuck in place in April, despite what’s typically a busy spring real estate season. The number of For Sale signs in the existing-home market remains relatively subdued, prompting more buyers to turn to new-home construction, where sales activity lately has been more robust.

Existing-home sales—which includes single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops—eked out a 0.2% increase in April compared to March and posted essentially no change when compared to a year ago, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Monday. Modest sales increases in the Midwest and South were offset by virtually stagnant sales in the Northeast and West.

The market is sending “mixed macroeconomic signals,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. A record-high stock market combined with historically low consumer confidence is translating into a mixed picture for home buyers and sellers this spring.

🔹Housing Affordability Is Improving🔹

With mortgage rates continuing to track lower than a year ago (averaging 6.33% for April) and wages rising, homeownership may be getting more affordable. NAR reports year-over-year affordability has improved across the country, led by the largest gains in the West (up 12.5% annually), followed by the South (up 9.6%), Midwest (up 5.9%) and Northeast (up 4.7%).

Household wage growth is at 3.6%, outpacing home-price growth, which is also “helping to improve housing affordability,” Yun noted in reporting on the latest uptick in employment numbers.

Meanwhile, home prices barely budged last month, with median existing-home prices up just 0.9% from a year ago and dialing back from the brisker pace of recent years, NAR reports. That moderation in home prices could offer some home buyers an advantage to still jump in this spring.

Some signs are emerging: First-time home buyers comprised 33% of existing-home sales in April, and 16% of transactions were second-home buyers and individual investors.

“The increase in second-home purchases reflects stronger finances among higher-income households,” Yun notes.

🔹Buyers Follow the Inventory🔹

Inventory remains tight in the existing-home market, up about 6% last month but only a 1.4% increase compared to last year’s compressed levels, according to NAR.

That said, buyer demand is still evident: “Multiple offers, though not as intense as a few years ago, are still occurring,” Yun says, with the REALTORS® Confidence Index showing homes listed in April received, on average, 2.5 offers. “At the same time, days on the market are lengthening on average, implying the consumers are taking their time before making decisions.” The median time on the market for properties was 32 days in April, up from 29 days a year ago, NAR’s research shows.

As the number of existing homes for sale remains limited, more buyers appear to be looking to the new-home market. Sales of newly built single-family homes jumped 7.4% in March compared to February, and sales were up 3.3% from a year ago, the Commerce Department recently reported. Builders cited tight supply in the existing-home market as a key driver fueling recent demand in new construction.

Plus, the lower price tag in new homes may be proving another draw: The median new-home sales price in March, based on the latest numbers available, was $387,400, down 6.2% from a year ago and nearly 10% below its recent peak in December 2025.

By comparison, the median price of an existing home sold last month was $417,700—$30,000 higher than the median new-home sales price. Historically, existing-home prices are lower than new-home prices.

Builders continue to offer sales incentives to buyers, with 60% offering sales perks like mortgage rate buydowns, closing cost assistance or upgrades and design credits. One-third of builders also reported cutting prices in April, with an average price reduction of 5%, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ surveys.

https://www.nar.realtor/magazine/real-estate-news/economy/home-sales-barely-move-as-inventory-constraints-persist

Orca Home Solutions

06/02/2026

05/29/2026

05/26/2026

05/22/2026

05/19/2026

05/15/2026

05/12/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Organization

Shortcuts

Share

Category