Best Interest

07/28/2026

Home buyers finally have leverage in 2026 but it depends entirely on where you live 🏠👀

Here's what Best Interest Financial's latest research found:
🏠 The typical home now sells below list price in 41 of the 50 largest U.S. metros — a clear shift toward buyers.
💰 Buyers have the most negotiating power in Detroit, where nearly 1 in 5 listings (19.8%) have a price cut and sellers slash prices by 6.2% on average.
🏷️ San Antonio sellers have discounted more listings (28.2%) than any other market in the U.S.
🤠 All four major Texas metros — Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Dallas — rank in the top 10 for buyer negotiating power.
🔒 Hartford, CT is the toughest market for buyers — just 10.6% of listings are discounted, and homes sell for 104.34% of list price.
📈 San Francisco buyers are bidding UP, not down — homes there sell for 108.87% of list price, the highest of any metro studied.

Read the full study here 👉 https://hubs.li/Q04nClvK0

07/14/2026

Minimum-wage workers can't afford rent in a SINGLE one of America's 50 largest cities 🏠😳

Here's what Best Interest Financial's latest 2026 data found:
💵 Workers earning the federal minimum wage can only afford $348/month in rent — the cheapest city studied (St. Louis) costs $995.
⏰ To afford median rent, minimum-wage workers would need to work 52 hours a week — about 10 hours every single workday.
🔴 In 14 cities, rent costs MORE than an entire month's paycheck.
👥 In 8 cities, 5 minimum-wage workers would need to share a 1-bedroom apartment to afford rent.
🤑 In San Jose, workers would need to earn $62.13/hr to afford rent — the minimum wage there is $18.45.
📅 The federal minimum wage hasn't budged since 2009. To just match that era's purchasing power, it would need to rise to $11.43 today.

Read the full 2026 Minimum Wage & Rent study here 👉 https://hubs.ly/Q04n3Fb40

06/23/2026

95% of future home buyers say something is holding them back from purchasing today 🚧🏡

Here's what Clever's latest 2026 data found:
🏠 No. 1 home-buying obstacle: high home prices (48%), followed by high mortgage rates (33%) and down payment affordability (33%)
💸 63% of buyers say they can only afford less than $400K — but the median U.S. home costs about $403K
😟 58% worry they may never be able to buy a home
🎯 81% have other life goals they'd rather achieve in the next 5 years, such as paying off debt (36%)
🤖 More than 1 in 3 buyers (37%) plan to use AI to help navigate the purchase

Read the full report:

New research finds future home buyers are waiting for better market conditions, with 49% believing it will be easier to buy in five years.

06/10/2026

Today's home buyers will pay more in mortgage interest than the home itself costs 🏠

Best Interest's latest 2026 research found:
💸 A buyer financing the median-priced http://U.S. home at today's 6.53% rate will pay $413,700 in interest over 30 years, $10,500 more than the home itself costs
📊 That's a 102.6% interest-to-home-price ratio, holding true in every single metro studied
📉 If 2021's 2.96% rate still applied, buyers would pay $249,188 less in lifetime interest on the same home
🌴 California dominates the high end — San Jose buyers face $http://1.7M in lifetime interest alone
🏙️ Ohio anchors the affordable end, with Toledo coming in at just $163,654 in lifetime interest
💰 Over 30 years, today's median buyer repays $736,260 on a $322,560 loan — more than twice what they borrowed

See all the findings here 👇
https://hubs.li/Q04kQvX20

At today's 6.53% rate, the typical U.S. home buyer will pay $413,700 in mortgage interest over 30 years, more than the home itself costs.

05/12/2026

A tale of two housing markets in 2026 🏠⚡🐢

New data from Best Interest and Clever Real Estate reveals:
⚡ San Jose homes sell in just 12 days
🐢 Austin homes sit for 110 days; the slowest in the U.S.
📈 Raleigh, NC added 30 days year over year; the biggest slowdown anywhere
🏚️ McAllen, TX has 10.4 months of supply (national median: 3.9) 🤯
💸 35% of sellers in North Port, FL had to cut their price
🔥 In San Francisco, 62% of homes sold OVER asking — at a median list price above $1M
🗺️ Slowest state: Montana (121 days). Fastest: Massachusetts (39 days)

Only 9 of the 100 biggest metros sped up this year!

Full rankings 👇
https://hubs.li/Q04f-rmG0

04/21/2026

Home prices are rising faster than incomes across the U.S., and the gap is getting harder to ignore. 💸🏠

Best Interest and Clever Real Estate’s latest analysis found:
📈 Since 1980, home prices have grown 551%, while median household incomes have only risen 373%
🏡If prices matched income growth, homes would cost about $83K less
🔷 In 2026, the home-price-to-income ratio is 5.08, well above the recommended 2.6
🤯 No major U.S. metros have a home-price-to-income ratio at or below 2.6.
🏙️ Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and St. Louis are among the most affordable large cities
💸 San Jose and Los Angeles are the least affordable

The dream of homeownership is still alive, but the math is tougher than ever.
See all the findings here 👇

Home prices have risen 551% since 1980 vs. 373% for incomes. See how all 50 major U.S. metros compare in this 2026 home affordability study.

03/27/2026

Refinancing your mortgage can lower your monthly payment or help you tap into your home equity, but it’s important to understand the costs first.

Closing costs for refinancing typically range from about 3% to 6% of the loan amount, which can add up quickly.

Learn what refinancing really costs: https://hubs.li/Q048h8XH0

03/25/2026

If you’re tapping into your home equity, a HELOC and a home equity loan work very differently.

A HELOC works like a credit line you can borrow from as needed, while a home equity loan gives you a lump sum with fixed payments. The right option depends on whether you want flexibility or predictable payments.

Learn the differences: https://hubs.li/Q048h6mK0

03/17/2026

Buying a home costs more than just the down payment 🏡

A new study from Best Interest and Clever Real Estate reveals that home buyers are facing major financial surprises:
🔹 Buyers spent an average of $31,502 on upfront expenses beyond their down payment.
🔹 That’s 4x more than the $8,083 buyers expected to spend.
🔹 First-time buyers spent $36,460 — about 30% more than repeat buyers ($28,260).
🔹 81% of buyers were surprised by at least one expense beyond the sale price.
🔹 75% say buying significantly impacted their finances in the first year of homeownership.

Even more surprising?

💸 72% of buyers have regrets — most commonly not negotiating more (21%), underestimating post-purchase expenses (18%), and exceeding their budget (17%).

And 73% say they would have made different decisions if they’d known the true cost upfront. Buyers believe a different approach could have saved them an average of $38,082.

The listing price is just the beginning.

Full findings here 👇
https://hubs.li/Q046fQK00

03/13/2026

Not all mortgage lenders are created equal.

The lender you choose can impact your:
• Interest rate
• Closing costs
• Loan options
• Overall buying experience

Before you commit to a mortgage, make sure you’re asking the right questions.

Here’s how to choose the right lender 👇
https://hubs.li/Q046p1K80