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Jan 10: Under 6% Finally—Here's Your January Action Plan 🚀

The Weekend Edition: Under 6% Finally + Advanced Strategies to Maximize It

Author

Alex Veytsman
January 10, 2026

🎯 The Lending Letter 🏡

Saturday, January 10th: Weekend Market Pause + Why 5.99% Is Quietly Incredible

Happy Saturday! ☕ While most people are sleeping in, binge-watching shows, or arguing about whether it's too early to take down Christmas decorations (it's not), you're here getting the real intel. That's the difference between people who build wealth and people who wonder why it never happens. 💡

Today's market is closed (it's Saturday, after all), so rates are holding exactly where they were Friday. But that doesn't mean there's nothing to talk about. In fact, what's happening in the market right now is kind of fascinating, and understanding it could literally save you tens of thousands of dollars this year. No exaggeration. 🎯

📊 TODAY'S 30-YEAR FIXED RATE
5.99%
According to Mortgage News Daily | Unchanged from Friday (markets closed) | As of 01/10/26

🚀 Wait... Under 6%? In 2026?

Let's talk about this for a second. We're sitting at 5.99%, which means we've officially dipped below the psychological 6% barrier. And before you yawn and think "so what," remember that not long ago, people were taking out mortgages at 7%+ and being told it was "the new normal." 😬

According to Freddie Mac's data, this is the lowest we've seen in months. Translation: if you've been waiting for a "better time" to lock in a rate, you're literally looking at it right now. Markets are closed today, but they'll be open Monday, and things can change fast. ⚡

📈 The January Effect

January is historically one of the best months to lock in favorable rates. Why? Because lenders are resetting their annual goals, and they're hungry to start the year strong. Plus, according to NAR research, inventory tends to be lighter in January, which means less competition from other buyers. You're basically playing on easy mode right now. 🎮

💰 Lender Promos: January Opportunities Are Here

🏠 Ready to Lock in These Rates? Whether you're buying your first home or your fifth rental property, fill out this quick form and we'll connect you with lenders who are motivated to close deals at these incredible rates. January is their Super Bowl, and you're about to benefit from that competitive energy.

🏢 Investment Property Play? Smart investors know January is when you find the best deals. Motivated sellers from the holidays are still on the market, and you can finance them at under 6%. Connect with investment property specialists here who understand the math behind building wealth through real estate.

🏖️ Short-Term Rental Empire? Q1 2026 is the perfect time to set up your STR portfolio for the spring and summer high seasons. Get connected with STR loan specialists here who know exactly how to maximize your rental income potential. Spoiler: they've seen it all and know what works.

🧠 Educational Deep Dive: The 2/1 Buydown Secret

Okay, time for some knowledge that most people have never even heard of. Ready? The 2/1 buydown strategy. This is one of those financing hacks that sounds too good to be true but is actually completely legit and can save you serious money. 💰

Here's how it works: Instead of starting at 5.99%, you pay 3.99% the first year, 4.99% the second year, and then 5.99% for the remaining 28 years. Yes, you read that correctly. Your first year payment is based on a rate TWO FULL POINTS lower than your actual rate. 🤯

💡 Breaking Down the Math

Traditional 5.99% Loan on $400,000:

  • Monthly payment: $2,398
  • Year 1 total payments: $28,776

2/1 Buydown on Same $400,000 Loan:

  • Year 1 payment at 3.99%: $1,909
  • Year 2 payment at 4.99%: $2,146
  • Years 3-30 payment at 5.99%: $2,398
  • Year 1 total payments: $22,908
  • Savings in Year 1: $5,868 💵

The Catch (There's Always a Catch): Someone has to pay for this temporary rate reduction upfront. It costs about $10,000-$12,000 depending on loan size. BUT—and this is crucial—sellers can pay for this as a closing cost concession. According to CFPB guidelines, this is completely legal and happens all the time.

Why This Is Genius Right Now:

  • Seller's Market Cooling: With inventory improving per Realtor.com data, sellers are more willing to offer concessions to close deals. "I'll pay full price if you cover the buydown" is a powerful negotiating tool. 🎯
  • Immediate Cash Flow Relief: That first year savings of nearly $6K? You can reinvest it, pay down other debt, or just breathe easier. According to Bankrate's analysis, this strategy is especially powerful for buyers stretching their budget or investors maximizing cash-on-cash returns.
  • Betting on Your Future Self: By year 3 when the payment increases to the full rate, you'll presumably have gotten raises, paid off other debt, or found other income streams. Plus, if rates drop further, you can refinance before you even hit that full payment. 📈

Who Should Consider This?

  • First-time buyers who need lower initial payments to qualify
  • Investors wanting to maximize Year 1 cash flow
  • Anyone expecting income to increase over the next 2-3 years
  • Buyers in markets where sellers are offering concessions

Pro Tip: Most loan officers don't proactively offer this because it requires extra paperwork and education. You need to specifically ask for it. And if your seller won't pay for it, you can pay for it yourself and the math often still works out favorably. Knowledge is power, people. 💪

🏘️ For the Real Estate Investors: The January Acquisition Strategy

Alright investors, gather 'round. January is the most underrated month to acquire properties, and I'm about to tell you exactly why. 🎯

1. Post-Holiday Seller Desperation
Properties that have been sitting through the holidays? Those sellers are getting antsy. They've watched the market slow down during the busiest shopping season of the year, and now they're staring down another cold month. According to Zillow research, January listings that didn't sell in Q4 see an average 3-5% price reduction. That's free money on the negotiation table. 🤝

2. Financing is Ridiculously Favorable
We're at 5.99%. For investment properties, you're typically looking at 0.5-0.75% higher than primary residence rates, which puts you around 6.5-6.75%. That's still incredible for investment property financing. Run the numbers on a $300K rental at 6.75% versus the 8%+ rates we saw in recent history—we're talking hundreds of dollars per month difference in cash flow. 💵

3. Tax Year Reset = Fresh Depreciation
Buy in January, and you get nearly a full year of depreciation deductions on your 2026 taxes. According to IRS Publication 527, residential rental property depreciates over 27.5 years. That's roughly 3.636% of the property value per year you get to deduct. On a $300K property, that's about $10,909 in depreciation deductions annually. Stack that with mortgage interest deductions and operating expenses, and you've got a tax-saving machine. 🎰

The STR Winter Opportunity:
Everyone thinks summer is STR season, but smart operators know that Q1 acquisition means you're ready for peak season. Plus, winter markets (ski towns, warm destinations) are printing money right now. Our STR specialists are working with investors who are seeing occupancy rates that would make traditional landlords weep with envy. 🏔️☀️

STR Power Moves:

  • 📊 Tax Savings:Get a cost segregation study and accelerate those depreciation deductions. We're talking about potentially deducting 30-40% of the property value in year one instead of spreading it over 27.5 years. The math is absolutely bonkers.
  • 🛋️ Furnish Smart:Use our 0% interest funding partner to outfit your property. Why tie up capital when you can finance it at zero percent? That's literally free money in an inflationary environment.

🎓 Personal Finance Hack: The "Debt Avalanche" Advanced Edition

🏦 Strategy Most Financial Advisors Won't Tell You About

You've probably heard of the debt snowball (pay off smallest debts first for psychological wins) and the debt avalanche (pay off highest interest debts first for math wins). But there's a third strategy that combines the power of both while leveraging real estate: The Equity Leverage Play. 🎯

Here's the Setup: You have high-interest debt (credit cards at 18-24%, car loans at 7-8%, personal loans at 12%+), AND you have equity in your home. Most people would tell you to do a cash-out refinance or HELOC to pay off that high-interest debt. But here's the advanced move:

The Standard Advice:
"Get a HELOC at 8%, pay off your 24% credit card debt, save on interest."

The Advanced Play:
Instead of using home equity to pay off consumer debt, use it to buy cash-flowing assets (like rental properties), and use the cash flow from those assets to accelerate debt payoff. Here's why this works:

  • Tax Deductibility: HELOC interest for investment properties is tax-deductible. Credit card interest? Not deductible. According to IRS rules, debt used to acquire investment property qualifies.
  • Asset Accumulation: You're not just swapping debt for debt—you're acquiring an appreciating asset that generates income. The leverage multiplies your returns.
  • Forced Savings: That rental property payment is non-optional, which means you're forced to budget around it. Meanwhile, the property appreciates and builds equity automatically.

Real Example:

  • You have $30K in credit card debt at 20% = $6K/year in interest
  • You pull $80K HELOC at 8% to buy a rental property
  • Property generates $500/month cash flow = $6K/year
  • Use that $6K to pay down credit cards aggressively
  • HELOC interest ($6,400) is tax-deductible, saving you ~$1,600 in taxes (25% bracket)
  • Net cost: $4,800, but you're generating $6K to attack debt
  • Bonus: Property appreciates 4-5% annually = $3,200-$4,000 in equity gains

The Psychological Edge: You're not just "paying off debt"—you're building an empire. That mindset shift is powerful. According to behavioral psychology research, people are more motivated by gains than by avoiding losses. "I'm acquiring assets" hits different than "I'm paying off debt." 🧠

Critical Warnings:

  • This ONLY works if you're disciplined enough to not rack up more credit card debt
  • The rental property needs to actually cash flow (do your homework)
  • You need reserves for repairs and vacancies
  • If you can't manage the complexity, stick with the simple avalanche method

Who This Works For: People who are serious about building wealth through real estate, have stable income, and won't use freed-up credit cards to buy stuff they don't need. If that's you, let's talk investment property strategy. 💪

📊 Market Intel: What's Happening Right Now

Let's cut through the noise with actual data about what's happening in the housing market as we kick off 2026: 📈

Inventory is Improving Significantly
According to Realtor.com's latest data, active listings are up compared to this time last year. We're not at 2019 levels yet, but we're seeing genuine improvement. Translation: buyers have real choices again, and sellers can't just slap any price tag on their property and expect multiple offers. The balance is shifting. ⚖️

Price Growth Has Normalized
Gone are the days of 15-20% annual appreciation. Current data shows we're looking at 3-5% annual appreciation in most markets. This is actually healthy and sustainable. It means homes are becoming wealth-building tools again, not just speculative assets. 🏠

Buyer Competition is Down
Redfin reports that bidding wars are becoming less common. In January 2026, only about 15% of offers face competition, compared to 60%+ during the 2021-2022 frenzy. If you're a buyer, this is your market. No more waiving inspections or offering $50K over asking just to get in the game. 🎯

The January Window
Here's something interesting: According to NAR historical data, properties listed in January sell faster and for slightly higher prices than properties listed in February or March. Why? Because January buyers are serious. They're not just casually looking—they're ready to move. If you're selling, list now. If you're buying, expect motivated but decisive competition. ⏰

🎯 Should You Act Now or Wait?

The eternal question. And here's the honest answer: nobody knows what rates will do next week, let alone next month. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either lying or delusional. 🤷

But here's what we DO know according to Federal Reserve indicators:

  • The Fed is in a holding pattern on rate cuts
  • Inflation is stubborn but trending down
  • Economic data is mixed (some strong, some weak)
  • Geopolitical factors remain unpredictable

Translation: Rates could go up, could go down, could stay flat. Helpful, right? 😅

The Real Strategy: Stop trying to time the market perfectly. If you find a property that works at today's numbers, buy it. If rates drop significantly later, refinance. But don't pass on a good deal hoping for a perfect deal that may never materialize. According to Freddie Mac historical analysis, people who bought at "high" rates in the past and refinanced later still built more wealth than people who waited on the sidelines. Time in the market beats timing the market. Period. 📊

🎯 Your Weekend Action Items:

Ready to take advantage of these early-2026 opportunities? Here's your playbook:

🌟 The Saturday Bottom Line

Look, we're not going to lie to you and say this is "the absolute best time ever to buy real estate" because that's hyperbolic nonsense. But what we WILL say is this: 5.99% is objectively good, inventory is improving, competition is down, and motivated sellers are out there. If you've been waiting for conditions to align, they're aligning. 🎯

The 2/1 buydown strategy gives you immediate payment relief. The January acquisition window is real. The tax advantages haven't changed. And most importantly, every day you wait is a day someone else is building equity while you're still "thinking about it." 📈

We're not saying rush into a bad deal. We're saying stop overthinking a good one. According to Urban Institute research, homeowners' average net worth is 40x that of renters. Not because they're smarter or luckier, but because they took action when conditions were favorable. And friend, conditions are favorable right now. 💪

So enjoy your Saturday, but spend at least 30 minutes this weekend thinking about your real estate strategy for 2026. Because the people who win in real estate aren't the ones who wait for perfect conditions—they're the ones who recognize good conditions and act decisively. ⚡

See you Monday with fresh data, fresh strategies, and fresh opportunities. Until then, think bigger. 🚀

The Lending Letter
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See you Monday, January 12th with fresh market data and new strategies! 🎯

Disclaimer: This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only. Rates and terms vary by lender, property type, and borrower qualifications. The 2/1 buydown and equity leverage strategies discussed require careful evaluation of your personal financial situation and risk tolerance. Always consult with licensed mortgage professionals, financial advisors, and tax professionals for your specific situation. Past performance doesn't guarantee future results.