The 2026 State of Real Estate Investing: An “Easier” Road Ahead

Real estate investing is about to get easier, much easier in 2026. Deals are getting easier to find. Homes are sitting on the market longer. Rates are actually starting to come down, and buyers finally have more choices. But the average American may miss this. Many people are looking at the housing market and they don't like what they see. Meanwhile, small investors, they're buying, they're building wealth, and they're more optimistic about 2026 than ever. So what do they know that the average American doesn't? What opportunities are appearing in the market that you don't wanna miss? We're breaking it all down today in the 2026 state of real estate investing. I'm gonna give you the exact strategies that are primed to work in 2026. I'll share my vision of the housing market and where we're heading, and I'll explain why waiting for a crash may be the single most expensive mistake that you can make. The 2026 state of real estate investing starts now. Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Bigger Pockets Podcast, and happy New Year. I'm Dave Meyer, investor, analyst, and head of real estate investing at Bigger Pockets. It is so great to start a new year here on the BiggerPockets podcast with all of you. This is an exciting time of year. It's time to set ambitious goals, to map out your plans for the year, and to put yourself on track towards the life you want for yourself and for your family. But I want to just start by saying I think there are good opportunities coming for real estate investors in 2026. These are better opportunities that I have seen honestly in years, and it just gets me excited in general to be in this industry at this time. So in our show today, that's what we're gonna be covering. I'm gonna run through my state of real estate investing report as I do every year. It's basically my outlook for the housing market and investing conditions for the year. I'll share my personal strategy that I'm working on for 2026. We're going to talk about better inventory that's on the market, better deal flow, better cash flow possibilities out there. Yes, that is absolutely happening. We'll talk about improving affordability, the outlook for housing prices and mortgage rates, whether you should wait for a crash and more. We do have a packed episode today, and I wanna get right into it. But first, I just have a little bit of a teaser for you because on Wednesday's show, the next show that comes out, we have a fun announcement to make. I personally could not be more excited about this announcement. It is a huge win for this show and the Bigger Pockets community, but I will say no more. You gotta tune in on Wednesday. So with that, let's get into our 2026 state of real estate investing. So what is the state of real estate investing in 2026? If I …