Why I Am Looking at Real Estate Before Year End

I bought my first home before I graduated from college. I had no cash, no credit, and a real estate course on cassette tapes.

It was 1996. Using a lease option I learned from Carlton Sheets, I found a way to buy that house. My husband, Don, and I kept finding creative ways to buy as we moved, and instead of selling each home, we kept it as a rental. Those houses became the foundation of our real estate portfolio.

Thirty years later, I have bought and sold through very different markets. I still start with the same question: Can I buy this property at a price that makes the numbers work?

That is why I am looking closely at opportunities before the end of 2026. For passive apartment investors and house flippers, today’s market offers reasons to act, provided the deal fits the way you invest.

Apartment opportunities for passive investors 

In the apartment deals I am reviewing, I am seeing some of the lowest purchase prices I have seen in years. That gets my attention. Buying low gives us a better starting point for building value and eventually selling higher.

A lower price still needs an explanation. CBRE’s 2026 multifamily outlook highlights pressure on rent growth from new apartment supply, particularly in parts of the Sun Belt. I want to understand local competition, actual collections, insurance costs, and upcoming repairs before deciding that a property is a bargain.

The financing can make an opportunity even more interesting. Some apartment properties come with assumable loans, allowing an approved buyer to take over existing debt with a favorable rate. Fannie Mae’s conventional multifamily loans are typically assumable, as are HUD loans, subject to approval. That means today’s mortgage headlines may have much less influence on a particular deal than you expect.

We still need to examine the loan’s remaining term, assumption costs, and how much additional capital the purchase requires. A great rate attached to a bad deal does not rescue the investment.

You can participate without buying an apartment community yourself. In an apartment syndication, investors pool capital while an operating team manages the property. Passive investors can share income, appreciation, and allocated depreciation for tax savings without handling tenants or renovations.

That structure matters to me personally. I once owned five rental houses and, in a single year, had to replace three roofs and two air conditioners. Those bills wiped out years of income. It helped push me toward multifamily and, eventually, toward investing with teams that could handle the daily work. Today, I want assets that support my family without a second job.

Flippers need to plan for both sides of the sale 

For house flippers, more inventory can mean more properties to choose from and more sellers willing to negotiate. Realtor.com reported that September 2026 active listings were up 5.4% from a year earlier, and 20.8% of listings had a price reduction.

But remember: once the renovation is finished, you become the seller. The conditions that helped you negotiate the purchase can make your resale harder.

September’s national median time on market was 61 days, 14 days longer than September 2022, though slightly shorter than a year ago. Your neighborhood and price range matter more than the national average. Build your timeline around recent local sales, with room for delays. 

When Don and I flipped houses, I focused on the purchase price and total project cost, including the cost of the money to do the work. Perhaps you have the cash on hand, but many use hard money lenders. Rates on hard money are not tied to conventional mortgage rates; most have remained unchanged. But your actual loan terms still belong in the budget, and every extra month adds interest, insurance, taxes, and other holding costs. 

Higher mortgage rates can also limit what our eventual buyer can afford. I want the deal to work with a longer hold or a lower resale price if that is what it takes to sell promptly. A smaller, realistic profit beats a bigger number that only works on paper. 

Marry the price. Date the interest rate. 

For a long-term rental, I would rather buy at an attractive price now and have the option to refinance if rates fall. But the property must cash flow from day one, after realistic expenses, debt payments, and reserves. Refinancing can improve a sound investment; I do not want to need it to survive. 

“Marry the price, date the interest rate” captures how I think about buying. The purchase price stays with you. Financing may change, but the investment has to work with the terms available today. 

Start year end tax planning while there is time 

If depreciation losses (paper losses, not real loss of capital) is part of your 2026 tax savings plan, now is the time to evaluate opportunities and talk with your CPA. You can get these tax savings either as an active buyer of properties, or as a passive investor in apartment complexes.

As an active investors, getting a property under contract alone is not enough. Rental property generally must be ready and available for rent by December 31 to begin depreciation this year.

For both active and passive investors, qualifying shorter-lived components identified through cost segregation may be eligible for 100% bonus depreciation under current rules, yielding even greater tax write-offs.

Passive apartment investors can receive allocated depreciation through a partnership. This generally offsets your annual income from those investments. In most cases, there is more depreciation losses than needed for this alone, but using those additional deductions this year depends on your tax situation. Passive losses generally offset passive income, with unused losses carried forward; they do not automatically offset a salary or business income. Houses held for resale as flips generally are inventory, so the rental depreciation strategy does not apply in the same way.

Give yourself time for due diligence, financing, closing, and tax planning. I would not buy a weak deal for a deduction, but I also would not leave a good opportunity unexplored until late December.

Talk through your opportunities with me 

My own investing has evolved from buying individual houses to building a portfolio that gives my family more security and time together. Your next step should serve what you want your money to do, too.

If you are considering a passive apartment investment, investing in our Income Fund, or wondering how real estate could fit your year-end plan, let’s talk through the opportunities available now and what might be right for you.

Schedule a conversation with Maria