The Rentish Podcast

Rent Reporting, Cheaper New Homes, and Falling Mortgage Rates

• Zach and Patrick • Season 2 • Episode 29

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In episode 29, Pat and Zach are back with another episode of Real Estate News to unpack three major housing & credit headlines you need to know right now:

The guys break down what these shifts could mean for buyers, renters, and investors. Don’t miss their takes, insights, and a few laughs along the way.

Follow and subscribe so you never miss the latest in real estate trends, tips, and market moves. Got a question you want answered on air? Email us at questions@therentishpod.com
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SPEAKER_11:

What's going on, everybody? Welcome to season two of the Rentish Podcast. I'm Zach and I'm here with my co-host Patrick.

SPEAKER_06:

We're two rookies chasing the dream of real estate investing. In this podcast, we'll talk about property management, wild stories, and everything in between. We don't know it all yet.

SPEAKER_11:

But that's the point. We're learning as we go, just like you. We'll bring in the experts to educate and inform us and we'll figure it out together. So let's laugh, learn, and dive into real estate side by side. Uh thanks for listening to the show. If you've listened this far, we appreciate you and uh thank you for hanging out with us. If you want to follow the show, you can do so in a bunch of different ways. We're available on basically all podcast platforms out there. Just go to your podcast service of choice and search The Rent-ish Pod. And while you're there, give us a like, give us a follow, give us a subscribe, hit the notification bell to be notified when new episodes drop. And go on social media and follow us at The Rentish Pod. And also email questions at therentish pod.com. All right. Well, property management real estate, everybody. Hey, it's what we're here to talk about. Y'all love it. Uh Patrick, I think we're gonna get uh into the news on this episode. Is that right?

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, so we're gonna do some real estate rundown, I think is the I don't know if that is that the official name? Yeah, the new official name of the news segments. Yeah, they didn't like real news.

SPEAKER_11:

Or what was it before? We called it real news real news, like for real estate, and they were like, that's awful. It's really bad. It's like, all right, season two, brand new, brand new segments.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, real estate rundown isn't terrific either, if I'm being completely honest. Damn. But it's better than real news. No, it's better than real news. Real estate rundown. It's you know the RER. Your alliterative R. The RER. We're gonna get into the RER. Real estate rundown. Yes, we're gonna talk about the three biggest headlines in real estate that you need to know. We'll give you the quick hits first and break down what they really mean for renters, investors, and anyone keeping an eye on the market. So making waves this week. Article one will be on rent reporting from CNBC. The topics rent payments being reported to credit bureaus. Renters could soon see their monthly payments impact their credit scores, changing the way that credit worthiness is calculated across the US. Article two is mortgage rates, also from CNBC. Topics about rates dropping ahead of a Fed cut. Mortgage rates are dipping as investors anticipate a Federal Reserve rate cut, making it a potential sweet spot for home buyers. And article three is new versus existing home prices. It's an article from Forbes. New homes are now cheaper than existing homes for the first time in years. Uh they're being sold at lower prices than existing homes, shaking up the housing market dynamics. So that's what we'll be discussing today.

SPEAKER_11:

Those articles all seem interesting things that I would like to read with my eyeballs. So well said let's get into it. You want to get into it? Yeah, let's do it. All right, I've got number one here. So uh I'm gonna re I'm gonna hit you with reporting rent payments. So more renters are reporting rent payments to credit bureaus. Here's what to know. Again, this comes from CNBC, so you can check out the article there. I'm not sure if what do we link the articles in the description of the of the episodes? Cool, we do that. That's nice. Oh so go to the description and click on the article if you want to read along with us. But basically, the gist of it is that more renters are now using their rent payments to build or improve their credit scores. According to a new trans union survey, the share of renters whose rent payments are reported to credit bureaus increased to 13% in 2025, which is up 11% in 2024. From 11% in 2024. Excuse me. It's like, what happened?

SPEAKER_12:

Went from 2 to 13. What happened?

SPEAKER_11:

The survey conducted in March with 2006 renters shows that while adoption is still relatively low, patience is growing, especially among younger renters. Experts say reporting rent can boost credit scores significantly, but the benefits depend on how the services are structured and whether renters can keep up with payments. Patrick, before we get into kind of like the the who, what, when, where, and the why and all that stuff, have you heard of services like this that are basically like doing like like rent reporting and like I have I have heard of it, yeah.

SPEAKER_06:

I think it's it's getting more popular, it seems. Yeah. I guess the article uh backs that up. But I I I hadn't heard of it until like maybe the past two years or so.

SPEAKER_11:

I let me tell you, I you know, I'm not sure if we're gonna call out any of the specific companies that do such a thing, but I've heard the so bleep this out, producers. I've heard the built ad on basically every podcast I listened to recently where it's like tenants love paying rent. It's like make your rent work for you and but play with built or whatever, and it's like get rewards and whatever. And so it's like incentivizing like do like doing more with your rental payments, and I think that impacting your credit score is part of that or whatever. So it seems like they're trying to gain get get that audience to grow. They're advertising on like podcasts and I think probably YouTube ads and stuff like that, but they're out there, they're they're probably everywhere. Uh so you've you've heard of the I know built.

SPEAKER_06:

I have a friend who's trying to get me to get the built card. Oh, it's a card. I mean, there is a card. Yeah, I mean, I think there's a whole program for it. I know the built card allows you to pay your rent and get cat, like get cash back on it, I guess. Because they they they allow you to use the card, but like they give you an accountant routing number so you can pay it as though it were ACH. Huh.

SPEAKER_11:

Okay. Well, why it matters. So rent reporting services track payment history and share it with one or more of the three major credit bureaus. So there's Experian, Equifax, Trans Union. Uh, this could be especially valuable for credit invisible consumers, uh, so people who have little to no credit history. So basically, the idea in that respect would be that young renter, invisible credit file, doesn't have a whole lot of stuff to back up. They're maybe relatively new, just turned, you know, of age to be able to get a credit line and start building up credit history. The idea that, you know, these kids are going off to college or, you know, you renting your first apartment, and you can suddenly start making an impact on your credit and developing that line of credit and building it, keeping it maintained, keeping the score high without having to have this extensive credit history like a lot of people just kind of stumbled into. So yeah, kind of a cool, kind of a cool concept. Transunion found including rent payments and credit reports can raise scores by an average of 60 points, giving renters a stronger foundation for securing loans, mortgages, and credit cards. Yeah. I mean, that's cool. Yeah, very cool. What do you do to manage your credit? What do you mean, what do I do?

SPEAKER_06:

I pay my uh I pay my credit card bills on time. Yeah. Like you don't take advantages of any extra services that are. Well, yeah, I mean, if if it's what you were getting at, he's like, yeah, I actually am signed up for like the credit reporting on uh to when I pay my rent. Oh, really? Yeah, it's just like the free the free version. So I it's only going to one of the bureaus, I think. But um yeah, I'm on that. I mean, I I pay my rent on time, you know. I I I monitor to make sure that everything's reporting correctly. So yeah, I mean it's just like might might as well. Okay, you know, um, since I since I know that I am somebody, I've got it set on autopay, you know, I know I know I'm making my payments, so I'm like, it can't really hurt. Yeah.

SPEAKER_11:

Yeah, I uh I I agree with all of that. I also maybe it's just a force of habit, but one of the very first apps I ever downloaded when I got an iPhone and I started like messing around with credit cards and stuff when I was in like high school going into college was credit karma. Yeah, yeah. Um, and that's been around for a long time at this point, but they have like tips, tricks, and suggestions for boosting credit rates as well. That's like one of those like typical like weekly checks. Like just out of force of habit, I'll open the credit karma app and just be like, I wonder what my credit score is like right now, even though it's always around the it's like always in the same area.

SPEAKER_06:

So yeah, the company I bank with, Capital One, they have like a credit, I think it's called credit wise, like right on the app, so I can see everything on that, which is really helpful. I I do check up on that. Maybe like you said, once a week or once every two weeks.

SPEAKER_11:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06:

So who is reporting rent?

SPEAKER_11:

Generationally, younger renters are leading adoptions. So 18% of Gen Z renters reported rent payments in 2025. This is down from 26% in 2024, but still the largest share. That's an interesting jump. If 26% of Gen Z renters were reporting rent payments in 2025, what the heck happened that it dropped all the way down to 18%? They started reporting it and then they were like, wait a second, nah, never mind. We're just gonna take that away. 16% of millennials reported rent activity, and then 12% of Gen X and 8% of baby boomers are also. I guess that makes sense.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, the younger you are, probably the more inclined you are to build your credit.

SPEAKER_11:

You might be just more informed generally, too. Yeah, or like that, yeah. I bet you if you compiled a list of baby boomers into a room and said, How many of you realize that you could be reporting your payments for rent? Well, a lot of baby boomers probably pay more.

SPEAKER_03:

Could you report mortgage payments and build your credit?

SPEAKER_11:

I mean, mortgage payments are like that's automatic because it's a loan, it's by default. You're right, you're right, you're right. So it really is just the rental payments. So it's like you have to find the rare baby boomer that's also renting.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, I also wonder if if these percentages are about baby boomer renters or just baby boomers in general.

SPEAKER_11:

Yeah, that's that would be an interesting thing to know if it was like specifically for renters or not. But yeah, Gen Z made up 15% of respondents in the transunion survey. Millennials are about 28%, Gen X is 30%, and baby boomers are 27%. So some solid numbers there, and you get some really interesting takeaways there. But yeah, it definitely seems like it's SKUs young for these reporting services. All right, what to consider before signing up? So there's a few things that you need to take into account here. So experts caution that not all rent reporting services work the same way. Renters should ask a few key questions before enrolling. Number one, do you need it? If you already have a strong credit history, reporting rent may not take a major difference. So for those with thin or no credit files, the impact can be substantial. But if you have a strong credit history, this might not boost it as much as you think it would. So you might not even need it. Number two, what's the cost? Some services are free, but others charge between$6.95 and$9.95 per month with possible setup fees of$25.95. So there can be some pretty costly services out there that do this sort of thing. You got to know which bureaus are included. We kind of covered that already. What gets reported? Some services report only on-time payments, some report late payments. So it's like you got to make sure that you really read the rules and stipulations of these kinds of services. And then how do you cancel? So you got to be on top of it. And just like a personal hot take thing. I don't understand how there's this many people that forget to cancel their subs for like anything. Yeah. Like they have these commercials where it's like, do you not realize how many subscription services you're subscribed to? And it's like blah, blah, blah, can help you find all the things you're subscribed to. I'm like, I know exactly what I'm subscribed to. Yeah, right. I know exactly how much I'm subscribed to and how much it costs me every single month. It's like, do you think that there's just people out there that just are subscribed to everything? Yeah.

SPEAKER_06:

And they just forget what they're just auto-p put it on auto pay and just, yeah. Yeah. I think it's probably more common than I would than I would think. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_11:

Producer Musei says he doesn't think most Americans budget. It's interesting. Could be an interesting article to put it in the news segment one of these days, is budgeting budgeting practices of Americans and renters or homeowners, whatever, you know? Yeah. Pat, a couple questions for you before we move on to the next article. Uh, do you think landlords should be should automatically report rent payments to credit bureaus for tenants, or should it always be optional?

SPEAKER_06:

So, my opinion is is it should always be optional. I think because like paying rent, like that's you know, unless you can buy, everyone needs to pay rent to live somewhere. Yeah, and that to me is different than opening a credit card or like going to the bank and taking out a loan, you know, which is like the traditional things that credit would be reported to. I don't think it should by default be reported for something like renting that you have to do anyways. I get why some people might might think that. I just personally disagree with it. But I think like offering that option to tenants who might, you know, who are making these huge payments that aren't a traditional loan and being able to build their credit in like the sort of more non-traditional way, I think is really can be really helpful.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay.

SPEAKER_11:

Yeah, I agree. I think that it in uh in a case like that, I would be a little bit I would favor the tenants' freedom to kind of make that decision on their own. Yeah. Obviously, I think a lot of landlords could be in the right space for that, but you also don't want to do that sort of thing without like having that other half consent to it. Right. Because there's a lot of factors you may not be taking into account.

SPEAKER_06:

Well, I think like with landlords, maybe like their main incentive to want to require tenants is to incentivize tenants to pay on time. That way, if they pay late, it's gonna impact your credit. You know, I I get that argument. I think a counterpoint would be like, oh, there's a lease agreement if they're not paying on time, you know, like they're breaking the agreement and then other or you know, there's already threats in place. But yeah, that's just my opinion.

SPEAKER_11:

Yep. I'm totally on that with you. But uh yeah, so just to kind of wrap this article up, Matt Schultz, uh chief credit analyst at Lending Tree, had a had a quote the the more that you can do to improve your score, the better it is for your overall financial situation. That was his quote there. So the more the better the more you can do, the better your credit is. Thanks, Matt. Appreciate it. But uh genius. Yeah, but but uh Shishi Woo of the National Consumer Law Center warned went renters to weigh risks. She says, quote, if you were concerned about your job and unsure if you're going to be able to make your rent payments six months from now, maybe it's not the best time to sign up. End quote. So we got we got some two dynamite quotes here from the producers. So thank you guys for putting those in there. Rent reporting can be a powerful tool, particularly for younger renters and those building credit from scratch, but it's not risk-free and may not be worth the cost for those with established credit history. So do your research. As we always say, do your research. All right, Pat, what you got for me?

SPEAKER_06:

All right, next up we have an article by Forbes. New homes are now cheaper than existing homes. Here's why. For the first time in decades, the US housing market has flipped. New homes are selling for less than existing ones. In June, the medium sale price for an existing home was$441,500, while the median price for a new home was just$401,800. That makes sense. Did I say those numbers right?

SPEAKER_11:

I think you numbered just fine.

SPEAKER_06:

441500 versus 401800.

SPEAKER_11:

I get it.

SPEAKER_06:

We follow?

SPEAKER_11:

Hey, here's my lizard brain in action. Is as soon as numbers get into the hundred thousands, it becomes exponentially hard to read them.

SPEAKER_06:

Yes.

SPEAKER_11:

Like, I don't like reading$441,500. That sounds awkward.

SPEAKER_06:

But you said it really seamlessly. I feel like I didn't. You did a good job. I think you did fine. The bottom line, Zach. Yeah, the bottom line. However, you want to say those numbers. The bottom line is there's a$40,000. That's a number I can say.$40,000. Yeah, easy. There's a$40,000 gap, and it's unprecedented.

SPEAKER_11:

Unprecedented.

SPEAKER_06:

Since uh 1968, new homes have only been cheaper 22 times. I don't know what that does that mean like 22 months or that's interesting.

SPEAKER_11:

Yeah, new homes have only been cheaper 22 times. Maybe it means that because we're always in a state of basically inflation has always gone up since the beginning of time.

SPEAKER_05:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_11:

And then it's like you'll have dips where it drops down or like prices kind of scale back a little bit. So maybe the housing that medium price has only reduced 22 times. I don't know how long that stretch of period is that it did reduce, but it means that$441,500, that was like a medium price at one point, and then it scaling back at all is is considered one of those 22 times.

SPEAKER_06:

Seven of those instances have occurred since May of 2024, though. Where new where new homes have been cheaper? So seven of the 2020 22 times that new homes have been cheaper than existing homes has been in the past like basically year, year and a half.

SPEAKER_11:

Well, I mean, that says to me that we're in a time of economic uncertainty. Let's let's call it that.

SPEAKER_07:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_11:

Where it's like economics are constantly changing and fluctuating. And I think that that that probably me makes a lot of sense why there's been so many so recently.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah. The this June discount was especially drastic. The new homes, new homes sold for 9% less than existing ones, uh, shattering the previous record, which was a 3% less. Okay. So um experts say the anomaly comes down to builder incentives, changing home designs, and a glut. That's a that's the word of the day. So I I don't I don't use that word, it's not part of my vernacular.

SPEAKER_11:

No, it doesn't sneak in there often, but it's a good, it's a good word. It's very aggressive sounding. It's like it's a glut of new construction.

SPEAKER_06:

Glut of new construction. And not necessarily a preference for older properties, which I I think what I might have assumed before reading the article is that like, oh, more people want older properties with like, you know, maybe more character or history or whatever. Yeah, sure. But it seems like it's it more has to do with with the the manner in which the new homes are are being built, which also makes sense.

SPEAKER_10:

Yep.

SPEAKER_06:

Historically, new homes almost always cost more due to updated finishes, modern layouts, obviously, no like wear and tear from previous owners. Right. But since April 2024, the trend has persisted each month, fueled by aggressive builder strategies where new homes undercut the existing ones.

SPEAKER_11:

So tell me, Patrick, why are builders kind of cutting down these prices then? Like, why are these scaling back?

SPEAKER_06:

So 60% of builders have offered perks like mortgage rate buy downs, closing cost help, upgrades, according to the National Association of Home Builders. So those incentives basically point home buyers to purchase newer homes to basically get these sort of discounts that they wouldn't get on you know existing older homes. That's interesting. And 30% of builders lowered the sticker prices outright, which I wonder why. Yeah, that seems kind of kind of crazy.

SPEAKER_11:

I don't 30% of them were like, all right, whatever. Yeah, discount Tuesday. Come and buy the house for 30% less. Yes.

SPEAKER_06:

Well, I it's part of it might have to do with the shrinking home sizes as well. The average new home has dropped nearly 400 square feet since 2015, now averaging about 2.3 thousand square feet. But I think that's something like with newer homes, the average newer home going down in size, that you know, obviously would decrease the the median price of the newer homes. Despite slimmer margins, though, publicly traded builders are holding strong. The SPDR SP home builders ETF, say that five times fast, is up 12% this year, uh beating the broader SP 500's 10% gain.

SPEAKER_11:

Now I'm no I'm no stock expert, and I don't want to, we're not a financial podcast per se. But I do think the spider SP home builder ETF is one of the general ETFs. I I have like an investment portfolio where it just like takes like small little amounts of like spare change and like invests it into these different ETFs that are like generally pretty safe, like long-term investments that build up over time. And the home builders one might be one that I've I've put like a little bit of money in to just like have gained money over time.

SPEAKER_06:

Well, I wonder if the the point that the article was making with that stat was that it's not that new construction is in trouble. Yeah, it seems like it's it's doing well. Yeah, it seems it's doing very well. And the prices are are going down compared to like existing homes.

SPEAKER_11:

Yeah, before you kind of got into the article, the first thing I would have thought about just off the top would have been like the cost of maintaining and upkeep or renovating or like doing any sort of like damage work on like a historical home, like older homes, older construction, places that have been around for a while. When you go in to buy that kind of thing, like you're probably looking at like a inspection report and then having to invest like all sorts of money into like making sure that things need to get fixed, a new water heater, a new AC, like all that general stuff. But it's like a brand new construction is like brand new. It's like but it's like right off the get, there's no problems to have to fix after you buy it. It's just that you're buying it at the cost that it is for a brand new development. That would have been my original thought.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, and no, and that that makes sense. I think it's a perfectly logical way to look at it. Um, but it sounds like the also on top of like newer the way that newer constructions are going, a lot of existing homes are not being sold. Like, just like the market of existing homes is not as big, and therefore the prices are going up. Okay.

SPEAKER_11:

Uh, for example, homeowners a lot simple more simple than I was making it up.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, well, homeowners with a sub 4% mortgage they're reluctant to sell. And also, existing homeowners' values are up 49% since before the pandemic. So the giving them like sort of an incentive to to hold out for an even higher price as the prices just seem to be keep going up. Right. So yeah, I think that's that's a huge part of it. Here's a really interesting stat though from the article that caught me completely by surprise. I have you read the the median home buyer age act.

SPEAKER_09:

Uh I literally just got to it in the article.

SPEAKER_06:

Dang, okay. I was gonna ask you what it's what you thought it was. Uh 56 years old is the current median home buyer age, which is up from 31 years old back in 1981.

SPEAKER_11:

That is crazy today. That is crazy. I mean, there's plenty of uh there's plenty of reasons why that could be the case. So yeah, it's very fascinating.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, I mean, I think, yeah, that just I think that shows a little bit where the home buying market is, especially for young people. Yep. Like that's that is to me a wild median age. Yeah.

SPEAKER_11:

God, I hope I'm not 56 now. Buying the house. Yeah, oh my god.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh no. That's tough.

SPEAKER_06:

Tough well, I also wonder if that has to do with like people, like large companies who are buying a lot of houses, and like the people who like are running those companies, even if they're like not buying the house for themselves, they're just buying it to like flip or whatever. Yeah, could be. Uh, speaking of which, the top 10 firms made up 44.7% of all new single-family closings in 2024. So that might be exactly what's going on. Probably, yeah. But yeah. The expert outlook here is builders still face high inventory and will likely keep offering discounts and incentives through 2025. Economists expect the price inversion could last another year or two, but not forever. In short, today's unusual trend reflects oversupply in builder strategy, not a permanent reset. New homes won't stay cheaper forever.

SPEAKER_11:

No, thank you, Patrick, for talking about new homes and how they're being cheaper. It's interesting, it is fascinating. Real quick, we're just gonna hit this last one. Mortgage rates drop sharply ahead of expected Fed rate cuts. So, again, this is one of those things where there's a lot of great information out there. Use your best judgment and resources when kind of taking all this stuff into account. Speak with the professionals, go out there, consult the people that you really believe that know their stuff. Again, Patrick and I are kind of just learning along the way. But this is actually a pretty important and impactful thing for the housing market right now and for for mortgage rates. So this past Tuesday, we're recording this on September 18th. This past Tuesday, as investors moved ahead of a widely expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, the average rate of the 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 12 basis points to 6.13%, according to Mortgage News Daily, which marks the lowest level since late 2022. The decline reflects bond market activity as investors bought into mortgage-backed securities in anticipation of the Fed's upcoming policy decision. Now you might be asking, why does this matter? That's exactly what I was. Who cares? I think everyone could pretty much unanimously agree that a lower mortgage rate is generally better. You generally want to see that. Okay. Makes you more likely to want to buy real estate. Yeah, mortgage rates are closely tied to yields on mortgage-backed bonds in US treasuries, which often shift in anticipation of Fed moves. So while a Fed rate cut is widely expected, its effect on long-term mortgage rates isn't guaranteed. So back in September 2024, mortgage rates initially fell before the Fed's rate cut, but then rose paradoxically after the announcement. So some analysts warned the same could happen again. Okay. And in some historical contexts, past cycles, Fed rate cuts have had mixed effects on long-term borrowing. So we don't know exactly what it's going to do, but like when the Fed cut rates during the recessions, longer-term yields like the 10-year Treasury, it generally fell, dragging mortgage rates lower. So, but when cuts occurred outside of recessions, the effect on mortgage rates was limited. So anything could happen. We we truly, really don't know what's exactly going to happen here. It's kind of just one of those wait and see and do your research, keep your eyes on the keep your eyes on the prize, as it were. Today's environment resembles the latter with the economy still expanding despite inflation and high borrowing costs. So it's gonna be an interesting, it's kind of like a weird amalgamation of the two.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah. I don't know if this was already brought up, but like the article had an amount, and then it sounds like as of yesterday of us recording it, it dropped even more. Is that is that accurate? Did I understand that correctly?

SPEAKER_11:

I think we were discussing that earlier and whether or not we should include it in the article. Did we get confirmation on that, producer Muse? Okay. No, no confirmation on that, but that's again again, just like we I said.

SPEAKER_06:

Jury forget that the evidence is dismissed.

SPEAKER_11:

Again, that uh like the news moves quick. Things could change by the end of today, the business day. You know, it's like you never know what's exactly gonna happen. So make sure you're up to date on your knowledge, make sure that you're checking these news wires and all these sources and places that you trust to get your good information. Um, real quick, just a couple expert perspectives. Matthew Graham, the COO of Mortgage News Daily, had a little bit to say about uh about all this stuff, kind of compared today's setup to September 2024 and warned that while rates have dropped ahead of the feds move, they could climb again afterwards on the opposite end of the spectrum. Willie Walker, which is a great name. Uh, he's like the the like Willie Wonka of the real estate industry. Willie Walker, CEO of Walker and Dunlop, he reviewed data from nine Fed rate cut periods since 1980 and said recession-driven cuts typically bring down long-term rates, while non-recession cuts have little effect. Predicts at least 25 basis points cut, possibly followed by another. Uh, expects yields could rise again within weeks, cautioning that investors may be, quote, buying on the rumor and selling on the news, end quote.

SPEAKER_06:

That's a good quote. Buying on the rumor, selling on the news. Sounds like I don't know if that's very official.

SPEAKER_11:

Hearing all this, is now the right time for buyers to lock in or should they wait? I mean, that's kind of the age-old question, right?

SPEAKER_06:

So, what I've what I've kind of heard from the experts we've brought in and other people I've talked to is just like it seems like there might never be a good time, and ultimately now oftentimes is the best time. Now is the best time. Obviously, in ex you know, extreme circumstances that might not always apply. But I I I generally think like waiting and hoping for like an unknown is probably not the best idea. At least, you know, uh in most cases. I don't know what you what you had to think about that.

SPEAKER_11:

No, I I kind of agree. I mean, I think it's like what waiting around for things like this to make a huge impact may not really matter a whole lot in the long run. Like, you know, we have had enough guests on the show to kind of teach us the fact that it's like if you feel like it's the right time, it's probably the right time. Yeah. Um, there's gonna be a lot of you know voices out there telling you that it might not be the right time. But it's, you know, you kind of have to trust your gut, trust your instincts, and do your research, make sure you're well prepared and equipped and go right into it. So, like, I don't know if there's really ever gonna be a great answer for is it the right time? But I certainly think that all this is worth keeping an eye on. Right. As uh if you're in the market right now for your first real estate investment or your first property or whatever it is, now's the time to kind of watch the news, make sure that you're informed. But yeah, so mortgage rates have hit their lowest level in nearly three years. But but like we said before, history shows the drop may not last. So whether the Fed's expected cut translates into sustained relief for home buyers will depend on how markets react. Once the policy move is officially official. So for now, officially official. Officially official. The rentish pod. Officially official. For now, borrowers may see short-term opportunities, but volatility remains high, and experts warn that the rates could rebound quickly. Okay. But that is it. That's the news. That is the news news.

SPEAKER_06:

What's it? Real estate rundown.

SPEAKER_11:

Real estate rundown. RER. Producer just made like a tiger emotion. I like that. Welcome to the Rurr. Look at the soundboard. Thank you guys for listening to another episode of The Rentish Pod. It's been a pleasure to hang out with you. We learned a lot about the news and what's going on in real estate. Stay tuned for a lot of more fun stuff to come out of season two of the Rentish Podcast, including other interviews, special segments, fun and games. Patrick and I talking about movies.

SPEAKER_06:

Doing uh doing a uh soda pop ranking.

SPEAKER_11:

Soda pop ranking. Yeah. We'll punt that to March when March Madness happens.

SPEAKER_07:

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_11:

That way we we can keep the show going until March. Uh follow us on social media at the Rentish Pod. You can email questions at therentish pod.com. Uh follow us on Spotify, Apple, get notified when new episodes come out by hitting the bell and give us a rating, a review, five stars, ten stars, whatever you gotta do. And uh tell your friends, people that you you know you work with or colleagues, friends that are into property management, have their own real estate investments. If you think that they might get a laugh or a yuck or just learn maybe a little a thing or two out of our show, send them our way. Give them the Rentish. And yeah, for for now, I've been Zach. That's been Patrick, and we'll see you guys next time. The Rentish Podcast is recorded in Cincinnati, Ohio, hosted by Patrick Giro and me, Zach Rotello, produced by Mussey Gebermescal and Charlene Mulchendani, edited by Elliot Mongenis. Theme song by me, Zach Rotello.

SPEAKER_06:

Yes, we're gonna talk about the three biggest headlines in real estate that you need to know. We'll give you the quick hits first and break down what they really mean for renters, investors, and anyone keeping an eye on the market. So making waves this week. Article one will be on rent reporting from CNBC. The topics rent payments being reported to credit bureaus. Renters could soon see their monthly payments impact their credit scores, changing the way that credit worthiness is calculated across the US. Article two is mortgage rates, also from CNBC. Topics about rates dropping ahead of a Fed cut. Mortgage rates are dipping as investors anticipate a Federal Reserve rate cut, making it a potential sweet spot for home buyers. And article three is new versus existing home prices. It's an article from Forbes. New homes are now cheaper than existing homes for the first time in years. Uh, they're being sold at lower prices than existing homes, shaking up the housing market dynamics. So that's what we'll be discussing today.

SPEAKER_11:

Those articles all seem interesting things that I would like to read with my eyeballs. So well said. Let's get into it. You want to get into it? Reporting rent payments. So more renters are reporting rent payments to credit bureaus. Here's what to know. Again, this comes from CNBC, so you can check out the article there. Basically, the gist of it is that more renters are now using their rent payments to build or improve their credit scores. According to a new trans union survey, the share of renters whose rent payments are reported to credit bureaus increased to 13% in 2025, which is up 11% in 2024. From 11% in 2024. Excuse me. It's like, what happened?

SPEAKER_12:

From 2 to 13. It jumped up so high.

SPEAKER_11:

The survey conducted in March with 2006 renters shows that while adoption is still relatively low, patience is growing, especially among younger renters. Experts say reporting rent can boost credit scores significantly, but the benefits depend on how the services are structured and whether renters can keep up with payments. So who is reporting rent? Generationally, younger renters are leading adoption. So 18% of Gen Z renters reported rent payments in 2025. This is down from 26% in 2024, but still the largest share. 16% of millennials reported rent activity, and then 12% of Gen X and 8% of baby boomers are also I guess that makes sense.

SPEAKER_06:

I mean, the younger you are, probably the more inclined you are to build your credit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_11:

You have to find the rare baby boomer that's also renting.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, I also wonder if if these percentages are about baby boomer renters or just baby boomers in general.

SPEAKER_11:

Yeah, that's that would be an interesting thing to know if it was like specifically for renters or not. But yeah, Gen Z made up of 15% of respondents in the transunion survey. Millennials are about 28%, Gen X is 30%, and baby boomers are 27%. So some solid numbers there, and you get some really interesting takeaways there. But yeah, it definitely seems like it's SKUs Young for these reporting services.

SPEAKER_06:

Here's why. For the first time in decades, the US housing market has flipped. New homes are selling for less than existing ones. In June, the medium sale price for an existing home was$441,500, while the median price for a new home was just$401,800. The bottom line is there's a there's a$40,000 gap and it's unprecedented. Experts say the anomaly comes down to builder incentives, changing home designs, and a glut. That's a that's the word of the day. So for and not necessarily a preference for older properties, which I I think what I might have assumed before reading the article is that like, oh, more people want older properties with like you know, maybe more character or history or whatever. Yeah, sure. But it seems like it's it more has to do with with the the manner in which the new homes are are being built, which also makes sense.

SPEAKER_02:

Yep.

SPEAKER_06:

Giving them like sort of an incentive to to hold out for an even higher price as the prices just seem to be keep going up. Right. So yeah, I think that's that's a huge part of it. Here's a really interesting stat though from the article that caught me completely by surprise. I have have you read the the median home buyer age act?

SPEAKER_09:

Uh I literally just got to it in the article.

SPEAKER_06:

Dang, okay. I was gonna ask you what it what you thought it was. Uh 56 years old is the current median home buyer age, which is up from 31 years old back in 1981.

SPEAKER_11:

That is crazy to me. That is crazy. I mean, there's plenty of uh there's plenty of reasons why that could be the case. So yeah, it's very fascinating.

SPEAKER_06:

Yeah, I mean, I think, yeah, that just I think that shows a little bit where the home buying market is, especially for young people. Yep. Like that's that is to me a wild median age. Yeah.

SPEAKER_11:

God, I hope I'm not 56. Oh my god. Oh no.

SPEAKER_02:

That's tough.

SPEAKER_11:

Mortgage rates drop sharply ahead of expected Fed rate cuts. So this is actually a pretty important and impactful thing for the housing market right now and for for mortgage rates. So we're recording this on September 18th this past Tuesday. As investors moved ahead of a widely expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, the average rate of the 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 12 basis points to 6.13%, according to Mortgage News Daily, which marks the lowest level since late 2022. The decline reflects bond market activity as investors bought into mortgage-backed securities in anticipation of the Fed's upcoming policy decision. Now you might be asking, why does this matter? That's exactly what I was asking. Who cared? I think everyone could pretty much unanimously agree that a lower mortgage rate is generally better. You generally want to see that. Okay. Makes you more likely to want to buy real estate. Yeah, mortgage rates are closely tied to yields on mortgage-backed bonds in US treasuries, which often shift in anticipation of Fed moves. So while a Fed rate cut is widely expected, its effect on long term mortgage rates isn't guaranteed. So back in September 2024, mortgage rates initially fell before the Fed's rate cut, but then rose paradoxically after the announcement. So some analysts warn the same could happen again.