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Exploring Wealth Inequality in an Asset-Based Economy

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By Rick Tobin

Asset prices continue to peak near all-time record highs for various types of real estate, stocks, and commodities if you’re fortunate to own them. However, consumer debt levels are also peaking at record highs as the purchasing dollar of our dollar continues to fall to the weakest buying power ever.

Credit card balances in Q4 of 2025 reached an all-time record high at $1.28 trillion, a 5.5% annual increase, according to Yahoo Finance. Fewer Americans are able to pay off their balances in full each month as prices for goods and services keep rising and income for many is stagnant or falling.

Ironically, many people are more focused on 30-year fixed rates that are still in the single digits somewhere within the 6% to 9% rate range, depending on one’s credit, income documentation provided, and occupancy status.

Yet, more Americans these days are paying between 20% and 2,200% APRs (Annual Percentage Rates) for unsecured loans ranging from credit cards to Buy Now, Pay Later to early paycheck advance loans.

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The Importance of Income-Producing Assets

Nearly 60% of Americans say they live paycheck to paycheck, according to multiple surveys published by LendingClub.

Wealth distribution has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of fewer people since 1990. Overall, the top 10% of wealthiest Americans own more than the bottom 90% combined, with more than $95 trillion in wealth for the top 10%.

U.S. homeowners are 43 times wealthier than tenants. The average homeowner at retirement age has 83% of their net worth tied up in their main home.

For more details about how our imploding dollar is creating more asset wealth because real estate has proven to be an exceptional hedge against inflation and a weakening dollar by rising inversely in value like a seesaw to a falling dollar, please read my article entitled Asset Prices Surge Amidst Dollar Devaluation Trends.

Good News for Homeowners

Home prices rose in 71% of metro markets (167 out of 235) during the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The national median single-family existing-home price increased 0.5% year-over-year to $404,300.

Median existing single-family home price by region (year-over-year change)

Northeast: $506,500 (+4.9%)
Midwest: $308,100 (+3.6%)
South: $362,300 (+0.2%)
West: $607,600 (-2.9%)

10 large markets with biggest year-over-year median price increases

1. Akron, Ohio (+12.0%)
2. Anchorage, Alaska (+10.4%)
3. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. (+9.3%)
4. Trenton, N.J. (+9.2%)
5. Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, Iowa-Ill. (+9.2%)
6. Canton-Massillon, Ohio (+7.9%)
7. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. (+7.7%)
8. St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. (+7.4%)
9. Reading, Pa. (+7.4%)
10. Rochester, N.Y. (+7.2%)

10 most expensive markets

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. ($2,030,000; +0.5%)
2. Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif. ($1,442,900; -0.5%)
3. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif. ($1,350,000; +2.3%)
4. Urban Honolulu, Hawaii ($1,175,100; +0.9%)
5. San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. ($1,050,000; +1.3%)
6. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif. ($956,800; +0.4%)
7. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif. ($944,200; +1.4%)
8. Salinas, Calif. ($943,500; -1.2%)
9. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. ($858,500; -0.5%)
10. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Fla. ($845,000; -2.3%)
Source: NAR

The good news for existing homeowners with record high values can be bad news for people interested in buying affordable homes as their current rent payments also reach record highs.

Bad News for Consumers

Since 2019, various types of beef prices have risen between 50% and more than 70% as of early 2026, as per NerdWallet. Why does it seem like the true rates of inflation are significantly higher than the published inflation rates, especially for food?

If you’re drinking coffee as you read this article, coffee prices have jumped even more than beef at price percentage gains nearly 120% to 130% higher today compared to early 2020, according to NewsNation and the World Bank.

Over 70% of Americans say they’re struggling to afford basic essentials like food, housing, and health care, according to a new CBS News poll published on April 24, 2026.

Almost 1-in-3 Americans today use Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) type of expensive credit services to buy groceries, as per recent LendingTree surveys.

Tragically, paying consumer debt that has double (20%), triple (220%), or quadruple (2,200%) digit percentage rates can create a downward debt spiral towards the figurative deep, dark abyss that only worsens over time as the debt continues to compound in size.

As shared before, time is the enemy for debt, while usually being an exceptional ally for real estate as home values can double or triple in value over many years.

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2008 vs. 2026 Comparisons

Homes

In California, the average 2008 home price was $318,075. In January 2008, the median home sales price in Southern California was $415,000, but by year-end, it had dropped to $278,000 as the Great Recession worsened.

In 2008, the average U.S. home sale price was around $292,600 as compared to the California average home price of $278,000. This is one of the few times when California home prices were closer to the national average instead of more than double the national average as seen in recent years.

The number of foreclosures increased significantly in 2008, reaching 56% of California homes sold by year-end. From peak to trough between 2007 and 2012, California home prices fell to an all-time state record of -41.7%.

In 2007, the median home price in California was $505,577, showing a significant decline in 2008 as foreclosures skyrocketed after peaking in price near 2006 or 2007, depending on the California region.

Median statewide home prices for California in recent years have varied between $850,000 and $915,000. By Q1 of 2026, numerous coastal regions in the San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and San Jose regions have home price averages anywhere between $1 million and $2 million dollars.

It’s not uncommon to see a large number of listed homes priced in the $20 million to $400 million region as I recently saw for a new home listing in Bel Air, California.

Credit Cards and Mortgage Rates

The average interest rate for all credit cards in February 2008 was 12.47%. Today, the average APR (rate and fees) is closer to 29%. The average car loan rate for a new car was just under 7% in Q2 2008.

Subprime automobile loan rates can vary between 13% and 30%+ in 2026. Millions of cars are now being repossessed each year because it’s quite challenging to pay rapidly increasing car loan balance payments and nearly record-high insurance and maintenance costs at the same time, sadly.

In 2026, almost 20% of new car loan payments are more than $1,000 per month. Car loan terms are rapidly increasing from three or five years to seven or eight years to make them more “affordable” as noted by some new truck loans costing more than $3,000 per month.

In 2008, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate was near 6.03%. In November 2008, the average mortgage loan was $211,200. For an $211,200 mortgage priced at 6.03%, the payment (principal and interest) would’ve been $1,270.33 per month.

In 2026, 30-year fixed rate averages hovered within the low to high 6% rate range on average. However, the loan amounts and purchase prices today are significantly higher than back in 2008. As a result, homes in most U.S. regions are the most unaffordable ever as compared to median household income.

Burritos

In 2008, the average cost of a burrito at Taco Bell was around 79 to 89 cents. Today, a burrito at our nearby Chipotle restaurant may cost anywhere between $12 and $18.

An increasing number of Americans are buying burritos and other fast foods off of Buy Now, Pay Later services that it’s also being referred to as Burrito Now, Pay Later.

If and when home and burrito prices later fall, there will be tremendous opportunities for those investors who are patient just like after 2008.

Reduce Debt & Keep on Learning

Whether you currently have a negative net worth like so many Americans today or own a huge portfolio of free-and-clear real estate properties and stocks, it’s important to attempt to pay down or pay off debt that can sink you quicker than a 100-pound anchor in the sea, if possible.

It’s been said that “the only constant in life is change.” Today’s world is changing at perhaps the fastest pace in world history. What worked last week may not work next week because of these seemingly lightning-fast changes all around us.

At the same time, stay focused on researching and learning as much as possible about how to invest in whatever interests you. Be consistent with your research and daily targets, regardless of what is happening all around you.

Your action is much more empowering than inaction. While change can be scary, it also brings new opportunities for those who are prepared and willing to take the risk that they hopefully reduce after striving to learn something new every single day.

Rick Tobin has worked in the real estate, financial, investment, and writing fields for the past 30+ years. He’s held eight (8) different real estate, securities, and mortgage brokerage licenses to date and is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

Rick provides creative residential and commercial mortgage solutions for clients across the nation. He’s also written college textbooks and real estate licensing courses in most states for the two largest real estate publishers in the nation; the oldest real estate school in California; and the first online real estate school in California.

Please visit his website at Realloans.com for financing options, join his investment group at So-Cal Real Estate Investors, and follow his new So-Cal Real Estate TV channel for more details.

Rick Tobin
Realloans (Real Estate Loans)
https://realloans.com/
Phone or Text: (760) 485 – 2422
NMLS 1934868
Equal Housing Opportunity / Equal Housing Lender
To quickly apply online: Loan Application
For our real estate course: Learn Real Estate

Please follow our new real estate channel (watch on television, computers, and phones): So-Cal Real Estate TV

Our Facebook business pages: Realloans, Inside Los Angeles, Inside Pacific Palisades, Inside Long Beach, Inside Huntington Beach, Inside Orange County, Inside La Jolla, Inside San Diego, Inside Lake Elsinore, Inside Temecula Valley, Inside Coachella Valley, and So-Cal Real Estate Investors.

Here are some of my articles: The Fall of 2025 and Rise of New Opportunities, The Intersection of Declining Home Sales and Creative Marketing, Are Lower Rates on the Horizon?, Weather Extremes, Homes, and Insurance Risks, The California Gold Rush Boom, and Are You Focused on Commercial Real Estate?

Please join my So-Cal Real Estate Investors group that meets at Canyon Lake Golf & Country Club, Shoreline Yacht Club in Long Beach, and online: So-Cal Real Estate Investors.

Surviving and Thriving in 2026 – Key Insight on the Real Estate Market

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Online event

Thursday, April 23  •  5:30 PM – 6:30 PM PDT

Overview

Learn from Rick Tobin, CEO of RealLoans, as he dives into current real estate market, as well as statistics, trends, and timely news.

KEY TOPICS FOR THIS MEETING – Surviving and Thriving in 2026


* Extreme energy price swing risks* Increasing stagflation trends

* A growing shadow inventory of distressed and vacant properties.

* Foreclosure filings are rising up for both residential and commercial.

* Stale listings and longer days on market (DOM) numbers

* New investment opportunities for educated and brave investors.

OUR EDUCATOR:

Rick Tobin has worked in the real estate, financial, investment, and writing fields for the past 30+ years. He’s held eight (8) different real estate, securities, and mortgage brokerage licenses to date and is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

Rick provides creative residential and commercial mortgage solutions for clients across the nation. He’s also written college textbooks and real estate licensing courses in most states for the two largest real estate publishers in the nation; the oldest real estate school in California; and the first online real estate school in California.

Be sure to join this live online session, which will NOT be recorded.

For additional information, please visit his website at Realloans.com for financing options, join his investment group at So-Cal Real Estate Investors, and follow his new So-Cal Real Estate TV channel for more details.

We hope to see you on this informative virtual session.

Good to know

Highlights

  • 1 hour
  • Online

Refund Policy

Refunds up to 7 days before event

Stale Listings and Frozen Equity

By

By Rick Tobin

A “stale listing” is defined as a listed residential property that has been on the market for sale for more than 60 days without going under contract after a purchase offer is made.

In February 2026, there was an estimated 52.2% of all U.S. home listings that were “stale” after receiving no purchase offers, according to Redfin. This stale listing percentage number was up from 50.1% one year earlier and the highest number since 2019.

The dollar amount estimate across the nation reached a new record for this time of the year at $347 billion dollars for stale listings. In the same month of February, there were 630,000 more sellers than buyers, as per Redfin.

For all listing inventories nationwide, which includes brand new and older stale listings, the total estimated dollar amount reached a nearly all-time record high dollar amount estimate of $636 billion.

The typical listed home that did sell and go under contract took an average of 66 days on market (DOM), which was the slowest pace in almost a decade.

For comparison purposes, back near the depths of the Great Recession in April 2010, the median number of days it took to sell a listed single-family home in California was 39.4 days, according to the Los Angeles Times.

One year prior in April 2009, the median time on the market was 48.1 days. Back then, many distressed short sales took between six and 12 months to sell.

Worst and Best Stale Listing Cities

The stale listings were most common in the state of Florida, and the least common in the Bay Area near San Francisco.

In Miami, almost two-thirds (62.6%) of home listings were stale in February 2026, which was the biggest stale listing percentage number of all of the major U.S. metro regions. The next most stale listing regions nationwide were found in San Antonio (58.3%), Pittsburgh (58.1%), and in West Palm Beach (55.9%), as per Redfin data.

What’s truly ironic about Miami is that this metro area had both the most stale home listings and the highest percentage rent increase numbers over the past six years among major U.S. cities. Since 2020, average rents jumped 53% to reach $2,645 in January 2026 in Miami, according to Visual Capitalist.

Top 5 Rent Increases by Metros (2020 – 2026)

1. Miami, FL: +53%
2. Tampa, FL: +50%
3. Riverside, CA: +48%
4. St. Louis, MO: +44%
5. Cincinnati, OH: +43%
Source: Visual Capitalist

The best regions for the fewest percentage number of stale listings were found in the Bay Area and Big Tech regions. These areas include San Jose (19.8%), San Francisco (24%), and Oakland (31.1%).

The fourth and fifth best large metro regions for the fewest stale listing percentages were near Disneyland in Anaheim (34%) and in Seattle (34.1%).

Stale California Cities

In California, the Riverside, Sacramento and Los Angeles metropolitan regions now have the highest percentage of “stale” listings at significant dollar amounts, according to KTLA.
1. Riverside, CA: 48.8% (Total value: $5,505,718,830)
2. Los Angeles, CA: 44.1% (Total value: $13,531,277,797)
3. Sacramento, CA: 41.8% (Total value: $1,665,099,987)
4. San Diego, CA: 37.7% (Total value: $2,960,305,403)
5. Anaheim, CA: 34.0% (Total value: $3,804,979,477)
6. Oakland, CA: 31.1% (Total value: $903,312,534)
7. San Francisco, CA: 24.0% (Total value: $687,464,464)
8. San Jose, CA: 19.8% (Total value: $524,074,518)

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Minimal Cash Reserves

A very high percentage of U.S. homeowners have the bulk of their net worth tied up in equity in their primary home where they live. In fact, more than 80% of all net worth held by retired U.S. homeowners is found in the equity in their main home.

A recent study published by the National Institute on Retirement Security found that the average U.S. worker between the ages of 21 and 64 had less than $1,000 available for retirement. For those workers with employer-assisted savings or retirement accounts, the median balance was just $40,000.

Past studies about the amount of money needed to retire comfortably found that Americans needed anywhere between $1.25 and $2.25 million (California, especially), according to reports such as Northwestern Mutual’s 2025 Planning & Progress Study.

Property owners who need cash to pay bills have options available to them like selling their homes and moving down to a smaller place, borrowing against their equity with a 30-year fixed cash-out mortgage, a HELOC (Home Equity Line of Credit) as a 1st or 2nd, or opting for a reverse mortgage with no monthly payments.

Today’s record number of home equity is nearly $17 trillion nationwide, according to the March 2026 Mortgage Monitor report issued by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and shared by CBS News. As such, this is truly a huge number of untapped frozen equity available.

Converting Frozen Equity Into Cash

For both stale residential and commercial property listings, our Realloans team offers asset-based, cash-out loans for investment properties that have been listed for sale for days, weeks, months, or years. These loan products also don’t require the sharing of tax returns to qualify.

These types of bridge loans can be structured with no prepayment penalties so that the borrower can use the cash to purchase other properties even before their listed property sells, or to replenish their savings account and pay some bills as they wait to tap into their frozen equity.

Reverse Mortgage Solutions

A reverse mortgage can be used as a cash-out refinance solution as well as to purchase a new home. Many real estate agents and investors are not aware of the reverse mortgage purchase option, which could create new ways to find clients or sellers as the Baby Boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964) continues to get older.

Approximately 10,000 Baby Boomers per day surpass the age of 65 here in the US. By 2030, all Baby Boomers will be at least 65 years of age.

There are several different ways that a reverse mortgage borrower can collect funds from their lender at the time of closing or at a later date after the closing of a reverse mortgage.

Let’s take a closer look below at some of the more popular borrowing options and basic qualification requirements for a reverse mortgage:

  • The home must be the borrowers’ primary residence.
  • Just one of the borrowers in the home must be 62.
  • The borrower receives equal monthly advance payment amounts that fit their financial needs.
  • The borrower receives a rather large lump sum of money at the closing and access to a line of credit at a later date such as 12 months later. If so, the borrower can decide how much extra money that he or she wants to borrow by writing a check off of the credit line or from an online location.
  • The borrower chooses a fixed number of years to collect funds that have a preselected loan period or end date.
  • With any reverse mortgage scenario, the IRS doesn’t consider these funds to be taxable income because the money is viewed as a loan.
  • The homeowner remains on title during the entire reverse mortgage loan process up until the home is sold or the last remaining borrower passes away.
  • Any interest accrued or deferred on a reverse mortgage is not usually deductible until the loan is paid in full with certain other tax restrictions. (tax rules subject to change)
  • Some borrowers may wish to place their family trust or some other legal entity as the borrower for the loan and on title to make it easier to pass on the remaining equity in the home to family members or other designated heirs. Please seek competent legal and accounting advice before making this decision.

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Stale Listing Opportunities

A sluggish or stale listing market can be an exceptional opportunity for real estate investors who have access to cash or creative loans so that you can move quickly to purchase stale properties at a discount.

Sellers may be much more willing to negotiate with benefits such as price reductions, seller credits towards your closing costs, and possible leaseback options.

With less competition from buyers here in 2026 as noted by there being a reported 630,000 more sellers than home buyers, this is your year to thrive and prosper as you focus on new buying opportunities and various new ways to access cash and reducing consumer debts at the same time.

Rick Tobin has worked in the real estate, financial, investment, and writing fields for the past 30+ years. He’s held eight (8) different real estate, securities, and mortgage brokerage licenses to date and is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

Rick provides creative residential and commercial mortgage solutions for clients across the nation. He’s also written college textbooks and real estate licensing courses in most states for the two largest real estate publishers in the nation; the oldest real estate school in California; and the first online real estate school in California.

Please visit his website at Realloans.com for financing options, join his investment group at So-Cal Real Estate Investors, and follow his new So-Cal Real Estate TV channel for more details.

Rick Tobin
Realloans (Real Estate Loans)
https://realloans.com/
Phone or Text: (760) 485 – 2422
NMLS 1934868
Equal Housing Opportunity / Equal Housing Lender
To quickly apply online: Loan Application
For our real estate course: Learn Real Estate

Please follow our new real estate channel (watch on television, computers, and phones): So-Cal Real Estate TV

Our Facebook business pages: Realloans, Inside Los Angeles, Inside Pacific Palisades, Inside Long Beach, Inside Huntington Beach, Inside Orange County, Inside La Jolla, Inside San Diego, Inside Lake Elsinore, Inside Temecula Valley, Inside Coachella Valley, and So-Cal Real Estate Investors.

Here are some of my articles: The Fall of 2025 and Rise of New Opportunities, The Intersection of Declining Home Sales and Creative Marketing, Are Lower Rates on the Horizon?, Weather Extremes, Homes, and Insurance Risks, The California Gold Rush Boom, and Are You Focused on Commercial Real Estate?

Please join my So-Cal Real Estate Investors group that meets at Canyon Lake Golf & Country Club, Shoreline Yacht Club in Long Beach, and online: So-Cal Real Estate Investors.

How Energy Price Swings Affect Housing and Small Business Stability

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By Rick Tobin

There were an estimated all-time record 600,000 more home sellers than buyers as of January 2026, according to Redfin. This is partly due to the fact that home prices are near all-time record highs in most US regions and fewer buyers have sufficient income to qualify.

However, the current national home listing inventory is still well below historical norms. A key factor for the low national home listing inventory supply is that there’s a huge number of forbearance and other distressed properties that are not being foreclosed even after years of no payments (C-19 forbearance deals for FHA and VA, especially).

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Without the foreclosure pressure, many homeowners aren’t being forced to list their homes for sale at present. At some point in the future, the distressed “shadow inventory” supply will be listed for sale or the delinquent mortgage pools will be sold off to large investment groups in bulk.

To compare the previous peak housing bubble with today’s market: There were 4,000,000 homes listed for sale as active inventory in 2007. As of February 2026, there were approximately 1.15 million home listings, according to Zillow. As a result, today’s national home listing supply is almost at 25% of the peak high back in 2007.

There are also 40 million more people across the nation today than back in 2007. Something’s got to give in the near future, whether it be falling prices, rates, and/or rising home listing inventory supplies.

Negative Economic Trends

We are now seeing some bizarre, contradictory, and negative economic and housing data trends that we’ve either never seen before or have rarely happened in the past.

For example, let’s take a closer look at what’s been happening in the first few months of 2026:

  • Google searches for “can’t sell house” just hit an all-time record high.
  • Google searches for “help with my mortgage” just reached a high not seen in almost 20 years, which was right near the previous housing bubble peak prior to the start of the Credit Crisis or Great Recession.
  • There are an estimated 44% more home sellers than buyers across the nation, according to Redfin.
  • More than 40,000 home purchase contracts, or 16.3% of every home sales deal, were canceled in December 2025. This was the highest monthly cancellation rate ever reported by Redfin.
  • Early stage mortgage delinquency rates increased by almost 31% in a single year.
  • More than 850,000 US homeowners are now delinquent by at least 90 days.
  • Foreclosure filings are up 26% year-over-year and completed foreclosures jumped by 59%.
  • In recent job market revisions, there were more than 1.2 million job cuts in 2025.

Sources: Yahoo Finance, Google Generative, Redfin, and Cotality

In one of my recent articles entitled Surviving and Thriving in 2026, I shared some concerning economic trends as well as potential new buying opportunities for investors who were both wise and brave enough to take action as opposed to many others who are sitting on the sidelines.

War, Oil Shock, and Rising Inflation

As of early March 2026, we’re now seeing military conflicts or wars breaking out in numerous nations across the Middle East. According to sources like Bloomberg, Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refinery named Ras Tanura was hit by a drone missile attack and shut down.

Numerous oil ships in the Strait of Hormuz and multiple oil-rich nations were hit by various military weapons in the first few days of March, according to sources like the Business Insider.

As a result, oil prices and other energy costs are starting to significantly rise due to the perceived lack of future supply, partly since nearly 20% of the world’s oil production comes from the Strait of Hormuz region.

Because energy price swings are usually a core factor for future inflation trends, the potentially increasing oil and energy costs may be a catalyst for rising transportation costs for consumer goods and overall inflation rates may rise at a faster pace.

Oil and energy prices could stabilize and drop again later this year, partly depending upon how long this conflict lasts. Only time will tell if energy costs will finish this year higher or lower. However, energy prices have consistently increased over the past several years and decades, so it’s more likely than not that energy costs will keep rising.

Increasing Stagflation Risks

For comparison purposes to past economic time periods, here are more details about the possibility of Stagflation risks related to oil shock that I shared in my Are Stagflation Risk Concerns Valid or Not? article from May 2025:

Stagflation is the simultaneous appearance in an economy of slow growth, high unemployment, increasing rates, and rising prices.

The last major stagflation era here in the U.S. was during the years between 1973 and 1982. Back then, energy and overall inflation rates rose so quickly that the Federal Reserve kept pushing rates higher in order to cool or “quash” inflation and unemployment rates rose as well.

For example, the Fed increased their Fed Funds Rate from 6.75% in January 1978 to 10.25% in April 1979 and later to 20% in December 1980. The U.S. Prime Rate for the most creditworthy borrowers also peaked at 21.5% starting in December 1980 and the 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 18.6% in October 1981.

Generally, energy price swings are a root cause of overall inflation trends up or down. This is partly due to the fact that our transportation supply chain (ships, trucks, airplanes, trains, etc.) is so heavily dependent upon various types of fuel to deliver consumer goods.

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The Oil Shock Crash of 1973 was a key factor or catalyst for this stagflation era:

1973 – Oil Shock Crash: This was directly related to the end of Bretton Woods when the “gold standard” was switched to the Petrodollar (“oil for dollars”) system beginning earlier in 1971. Between October 1973 and January 1974, oil prices quadrupled within just a few months due to the ongoing OPEC (Organization of Petroleum and Exporting Countries) Embargo, or the reduction in oil production, increasing U.S. demand, and skyrocketing oil prices for consumers.

Could you imagine if the 30-year fixed mortgage rate later surpassed 10%, 15%, or even 20% like back during the late 1970s and early 1980s. If so, it would really cool the housing market and overall economy, while inspiring more sellers to learn about creative seller-financing techniques that I’ve written about for the past few decades.

Here in Southern California, I’ve paid more than $5 per gallon of gas over the past few months. If the world’s oil supply drops later this year, how much higher will our California gas prices go along with the rest of the nation?

Small Business Challenges & Loan Options

Small businesses in the United States employ somewhere between 45.9% to 46.4% of all private-sector workers, which equates to roughly 59 to 62 million people. While these small businesses represent more than 99% of all employment across the nation, their share of US employment is just under half of the US workforce, as per the Pew Research Center.

We’ve all seen insurance, property taxes, taxes, food costs, automobile expenses, and other consumer goods and services prices rise quite a lot since 2019.

Unfortunately, many small businesses can’t afford to raise their prices enough for their customers to pay to cover their rising costs as their net profit margins may be declining or going negative.

More and more small business owners are operating off of much larger credit card balances with rates that may vary between 22% and 40%+ APRs (Annual Percentage Rate) that help them cover their day-to-day business expenses.

Other small business owners are borrowing from even more expensive loan options that are called Merchant Cash Advance Loans (or future credit card sales payment advances) with APRs ranging from 25% up to more than 350% APRs.

By comparison, the early paycheck advance loans for employees have shockingly high rates of between 300% and 2,000% APRs.

How do these lenders not violate usury laws with these horrific loan rates and fees that are negatively impacting so many small business owners and employees?

Business Loans from Realloans

Our Realloans team also offers very flexible and much more affordable business loan solutions for our clients such as follows:

  • $100,000 to $15 million dollar business loans
  • No tax returns or collateral required
  • Qualify off of at least 1-year gross cash flow.
  • Quick closings that can be as short as 14 days.
  • Our team can help repair credit as we work on the loans.
  • Credit lines, subordinate debt, and equipment financing available.

For more details about Business Loans from Realloans, please visit our Realloans.com website or Facebook page here: Realloans on Facebook.

Home Price Swings & New Buying or Selling Opportunities

The possibility of both higher energy and inflation costs later this year can also boost home values that are hedged against inflation. Home values have historically risen more than twice as high as published inflation rates in all 50 states over the past 50 years, as I’ve shared before.

In some US regions, there will be incredibly discounted property buying deals. In other regions, sellers may still collect all-time record high prices for their properties.

The brilliant minds at ResiClub recently shared a detailed analysis of one-year price changes by zip code regions between January 2025 and January 2026.

Do you live in a red (-8%), tan (near 0%), or blue (+8%) home region as it relates to 12-month price trends between January 2025 and January 2026?

At present, the Midwest region seems to have the highest concentration of home price gains, while Florida has the largest number of negative home price swings.

The more chaotic the economy this year and beyond, the more opportunities there will be for educated buyers and sellers who are brave enough to take a leap of faith by jumping in feet first and wise enough to know how to minimize the risks and maximize their returns at the same time.

Rick Tobin has worked in the real estate, financial, investment, and writing fields for the past 30+ years. He’s held eight (8) different real estate, securities, and mortgage brokerage licenses to date and is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

Rick provides creative residential and commercial mortgage solutions for clients across the nation. He’s also written college textbooks and real estate licensing courses in most states for the two largest real estate publishers in the nation; the oldest real estate school in California; and the first online real estate school in California.

Please visit his website at Realloans.com for financing options, join his investment group at So-Cal Real Estate Investors, and follow his new So-Cal Real Estate TV channel for more details.

Rick Tobin
Realloans (Real Estate Loans)
https://realloans.com/
Phone or Text: (760) 485 – 2422
NMLS 1934868
Equal Housing Opportunity / Equal Housing Lender
To quickly apply online: Loan Application
For our real estate course: Learn Real Estate

Please follow our new real estate channel (watch on television, computers, and phones): So-Cal Real Estate TV

Our Facebook business pages: Realloans, Inside Los Angeles, Inside Pacific Palisades, Inside Long Beach, Inside Huntington Beach, Inside Orange County, Inside La Jolla, Inside San Diego, Inside Lake Elsinore, Inside Temecula Valley, Inside Coachella Valley, and So-Cal Real Estate Investors.

Here are some of my articles: The Fall of 2025 and Rise of New Opportunities, The Intersection of Declining Home Sales and Creative Marketing, Are Lower Rates on the Horizon?, Weather Extremes, Homes, and Insurance Risks, The California Gold Rush Boom, and Are You Focused on Commercial Real Estate?

Please join my So-Cal Real Estate Investors group that meets at Canyon Lake Golf & Country Club, Shoreline Yacht Club in Long Beach, and online: So-Cal Real Estate Investors.

Understanding Risks of Affiliate In-House Brokerage Referrals or Kickbacks

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By Rick Tobin

In today’s world, there are seemingly monopolies growing in almost every field where a product or service is offered. If so, it’s the consumer who ends up paying more money due to less competition.

Whether it’s one, two, three, five, or 10 companies or corporations controlling the market share for products or services like soda drinks, electric cars, electricity, AI technologies, ice cream, banking, or real estate, the declining number of competition for many of these mega-corporations worth billions or trillions can keep the prices higher than normal for consumers.

As most of us see firsthand on a daily basis, inflation rages onward as the dollar’s purchasing power keeps declining, and the prices paid for products or services skyrockets. Who doesn’t want to pay less money for a product or service instead of seeing corporations create more record profits?

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Increasing Litigation Concerns for Employers and Agents

We’re starting to see more and more lawsuits filed across the nation that are making similar claims about unfair monopoly-like control of various product or service sectors. Additionally, there are anti-steering violation allegations being made that may include the same in-house real estate brokerage ownership of affiliate companies that are also financially benefitting, while consumers are paying higher costs as a result.

For example, this recent lawsuit filed against Rocket Mortgage by the law firm Hagens Berman on behalf of numerous consumers focuses on potential anti-steering and kickback violations with larger lenders, brokerage firms, and their third-party affiliates. One core claim made in this lawsuit was that Rocket was possibly paying referrals to agents for buyer mortgage applicants in exchange for steering them towards Rocket.

Hagens Berman, which also represented home sellers in a class-action lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors that alleged real estate brokerage companies were conspiring to inflate real estate commissions and later settled in 2024 for $418 million, has yet to prove anything in court against Rocket as of this publication date. In a court of law, one is innocent until later proven guilty or the case settles out of court.

There are other lawsuits out there being filed against real estate brokerage firms, insurance offices, and other companies that are making claims that the client’s best interests aren’t being protected because they may be paying much higher mortgage rates and fees that are split amongst the affiliate businesses under the same corporate ownership interests.

If the parent company is named as a defendant in a lawsuit, the odds are quite high that the employed individual real estate agent who worked directly with the unhappy client will be named in the costly lawsuit as well.

Anti-Steering Risks and In-House Affiliates

Anti-steering laws, primarily under the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA/Regulation Z) and the Dodd-Frank Act, prohibit mortgage originators from steering borrowers towards loans with less favorable terms to gain higher compensation or profits. Brokers are required to present loan options with the lowest interest rate, points, and fees that are the safest for their borrower clients.

If you can visualize someone “steering” in a car, or leading them by a figurative hand, to an affiliate third-party lender owned by their same employing broker, while knowing that the rates and fees are generally higher than nearby independent mortgage brokers, this is an easy way to simplify it.

Let’s take a closer look at Reg Z regulations:

From the Federal Reserve’s website:
Regulation Z: Loan Originator Compensation and Steering

“The Truth in Lending Act

The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) is implemented by the Board’s Regulation Z (12 CFR Part 226). A principal purpose of TILA is to promote the informed use of consumer credit by requiring disclosures about its terms and cost. TILA also includes substantive protections. For example, the act and regulation give consumers the right to cancel certain credit transactions that involve a lien on a consumer’s principal dwelling.

Regulation Z also prohibits specific acts and practices in connection with an extension of credit secured by a consumer’s dwelling.

Prohibitions related to mortgage originator compensation and steering

Regulation Z prohibits certain practices relating to payments made to compensate mortgage brokers and other loan originators. The goal of the amendments is to protect consumers in the mortgage market from unfair practices involving compensation paid to loan originators.

The prohibitions related to mortgage originator compensation and steering apply to closed-end consumer loans secured by a dwelling or real property that includes a dwelling.”

Anti-Discrimination Claims

Now, let’s focus on how potential monopolies and the control of in-house third-party services in sectors like the real estate, insurance, and mortgage fields can drive prices higher for consumers in spite of the potential violation of RESPA, the Fair Housing Act, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, and other federal and state regulations.

To simplify for the Fair Housing Act (Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968), it originated as part of the Civil Rights Act (Title VIII). This Act prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, financing, or housing based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, familial status, or disability.

As per the Fair Housing Act, the higher charging of rates or fees for real estate commissions, mortgage brokerage fees, insurance, or other third-party affiliate services offered by the same parent umbrella-like corporation can be alleged by some to be discriminatory as well as fraudulent.

As I’ve shared before, I’ve written numerous real estate licensing courses in most states as well as college textbooks for the two largest real estate publishers in the nation as well as for the oldest and best-known real estate school in California.

Lawsuits filed that allege the violation of discrimination can later lead to millions of dollars’ worth of future courtroom judgments. It’s very wise to research any potential state or federal violation risks associated with referring a client to an affiliate business, while profiting at the same time with undisclosed financial gains, in order to minimize your financial and legal risks.

I’ve often asked for many years the following question, “How do so many large real estate brokerage offices own and control affiliate in-house mortgage, escrow (a key description is usually “independent” and “neutral”), insurance, and/or inspection businesses and not potentially violate various anti-monopoly or anti-steering laws?”

RESPA and Kickbacks

It’s unlawful for a licensed real estate, insurance, or mortgage professional to receive profits or referrals from a transaction that aren’t fully disclosed in writing and shared with the client. These hidden “kickbacks” or undisclosed profits can later be used in a lawsuit and also put someone’s professional license at risk for being suspended or revoked.

Here is how the National Association of Realtors describes RESPA:
“What is the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA)?

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) provides consumers with improved disclosures of settlement costs and to reduce the costs of closing by the elimination of referral fees and kickbacks.

RESPA was signed into law in December 1974, and became effective on June 20, 1975. The law has gone through a number of changes and amendments since then, all with the intent of informing consumers of their settlement costs and prohibiting kickbacks that can increase the cost of obtaining a mortgage.

RESPA covers loans secured with a mortgage placed on one-to-four family residential properties.”

Monopolies Harm Consumers

The more competition there is from numerous businesses offering similar products or services, the more likely that the prices will be lower and better for consumers.

A monopoly may exist when a single company or corporation has exclusive control over a product or service in a market region with minimal competition, partly due to their actions that make it more challenging for customers to seek out other products or services. If so, this allows the business to charge much higher prices because of the perceived limited access to other product or service choices.

After the passage of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890, it gave more power to the federal government to bring legal action against trusts or other entities that were declared “in restraint of trade or commerce among the several states, or with foreign nations.” Initially, this law was passed to slow down JP Morgan and John D. Rockefeller’s consolidation of wealth by way of multiple industry monopolies across the nation.

The merging of more and more large brokerage and financial companies across the nation seems to be creating an increasing number of monopolies in these fields. How is this truly fair and in a clients’ best interests to have fewer choices, while paying higher costs?

Duties and Clients’ Best Interests

Licensed real estate professionals owe their clients certain fiduciary duties or legal obligations to act in their clients’ best interests. Many times, these fiduciary duties owned by a real estate agent to their clients can be summarized by the acronym OLDCAR as follows:

Obedience: Carrying out all lawful instructions requested by the client.

Loyalty: Placing the client’s interests above all others, including the agent’s own.

Disclosure: Revealing all known or potential risks such as property defects, outdoor environmental concerns, competing offers, or agent relationships with others.

Confidentiality: Keeping client information, such as financial information or motivation, confidential, even after the relationship ends.

Accounting: Safeguarding and reporting all money or documents entrusted to the agent.

Reasonable Care and Diligence: Acting with skill, care, and diligence in order to protect the client.

If an agent knows that rates and fees charged for in-house mortgages, insurance, or other services are higher than other nearby services offered by independent companies, this seems to not closely follow the “acting in the client’s best interest” mantra or duty owed.

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The Benefits of Smaller Mortgage Companies

Here are some key points where smaller independent mortgage brokers may be the best choice for buyers, sellers, and advising real estate agents:

● Overhead costs are much lower for small mortgage shops. For some larger corporate real estate brokerage firms, they may be faced with hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars’ worth of monthly expenses that they must cover from multiple revenue streams related to all of their third-party affiliates.
● Because the monthly overhead costs are lower for small mortgage shops, many of them can afford to offer the lowest rates and fees to their borrowers.
● Small mortgage shops typically move much quicker than larger retail mortgage lenders and can close loans in two weeks or less.
● Smaller mortgage shops usually have much more experienced mortgage brokers working there with upwards of decades’ worth of experience. Anyone who can survive the ups and downs or the mortgage brokerage world for more than five or 10 years must be doing something right.
● Experienced and independent mortgage brokers are more likely to have purchased real estate themselves and can be much more helpful advising their clients and agents through the closing process.

When in doubt as it relates to your clients, please remember to “disclose, disclose, and disclose” all of your financial interests and potential profits as well as truly act in your clients’ best interests by referring them to your most trusted and affordable mortgage brokers or other third-parties.

Rick Tobin

Rick Tobin has worked in the real estate, financial, investment, and writing fields for the past 30+ years. He’s held eight (8) different real estate, securities, and mortgage brokerage licenses to date and is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

Rick provides creative residential and commercial mortgage solutions for clients across the nation. He’s also written college textbooks and real estate licensing courses in most states for the two largest real estate publishers in the nation; the oldest real estate school in California; and the first online real estate school in California.

Please visit his website at Realloans.com for financing options, join his investment group at So-Cal Real Estate Investors, and follow his new So-Cal Real Estate TV channel for more details.

Rick Tobin
Realloans (Real Estate Loans)
https://realloans.com/
Phone or Text: (760) 485 – 2422
NMLS 1934868
Equal Housing Opportunity / Equal Housing Lender
To quickly apply online: Loan Application
For our real estate course: Learn Real Estate

Please follow our new real estate channel (watch on television, computers, and phones): So-Cal Real Estate TV

Our Facebook business pages: Realloans, Inside Los Angeles, Inside Pacific Palisades, Inside Long Beach, Inside Huntington Beach, Inside Orange County, Inside La Jolla, Inside San Diego, Inside Lake Elsinore, Inside Temecula Valley, Inside Coachella Valley, and So-Cal Real Estate Investors.

Here are some of my articles: The Fall of 2025 and Rise of New Opportunities, The Intersection of Declining Home Sales and Creative Marketing, Are Lower Rates on the Horizon?, Weather Extremes, Homes, and Insurance Risks, The California Gold Rush Boom, and Are You Focused on Commercial Real Estate?

Please join my So-Cal Real Estate Investors group that meets at Canyon Lake Golf & Country Club, Shoreline Yacht Club in Long Beach, and online: So-Cal Real Estate Investors.

Surviving and Thriving in 2026

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By Rick Tobin

As we kick off the new year here in 2026, many of us wonder if this year will be stronger or weaker and whether or not this will be more of a buyer’s market than a seller’s market. Either way, there will be success if we focus more on the potential solutions and opportunities more so than the temporary obstacles standing in our way.

Prices for goods, services, or assets like homes can be simplified by way of the Law of Supply and Demand as I learned in past Economics courses that I took as a student and later wrote as an author.

When supply exceeds demand, prices tend to value. Conversely, increasing demand and decreasing supply usually cause prices to rise.

Let’s review some factors that may cause home prices to be flat or drop here in 2026:

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Concerning Housing and Economic Trends

1. As of Q4 2025, U.S. home sellers or listed homes outnumbered buyers by 530,000, which was an all-time record high. This is partly due to home prices being at or near all-time record highs in most U.S. regions, while making housing costs more unaffordable.

For example, the U.S. home price-to-median household income ratio is close to 7.0x, near an all-time high. For comparison purposes, the 2006 housing bubble price peak was 6.8x.

The difference between the median U.S. home price ($426,800) and household income ($83,700) reached $343,100 in Q4 2025, which was the largest gap in history as per Barchart.

2. U.S. homebuyer demand is near the lowest level on record primarily due to how unaffordable payments and home prices are across the nation. The typical homebuyer needs to pay 39% of their gross income in order to afford to purchase a home. Sales demand plummeted to the lowest level in 40 years (only 4.7% of occupied homes sold in 2025, which was the lowest number since 1982), as per Reventure.

Please note that this is gross income (before taxes). In many states like California, the combination of state and federal taxes brings this monthly income much lower, so many buyers are paying upwards of 50% to 65% of their net monthly income to buy or lease a home.

3. We have an inverted housing market in so many different ways, especially as it relates to age. There are more home buyers over age 70 than under 35 in today’s upside-down housing market. The average U.S. home seller age in 2025 64, while the average Realtor age is 60 as per NAR. The average first-time home buyer in California last year was 49.

4. The published national home listing inventory supply is rising, while still being almost half of peak highs in 2007 when it reached near 4,000,000. Yet, this seemingly “good news” is offset by the possible “bad news” that’s included next as #4.

5. The distressed “shadow inventory” is much larger than the published national home listing supply. The national home listing inventory and published foreclosure date is nowhere close to being accurate and is artificially suppressed, partly due to the millions of distressed forbearance deal (FHA and VA loans, especially) situations where many homeowners haven’t made a single mortgage payment dating back as far as October 2020 when many of the Covid-19 forbearance plans started. As these distressed properties later become listings or go to foreclosure, the home listing supply should increase.

6. Average new U.S. home prices are now priced below older existing homes, which is something that rarely happens because most buyers are willing to pay a price premium for a new home with all of the fancy new appliances and other gadgets. Builders are so inspired to unload their unsold inventory that they’re offering massive credits to buyers to buy down their mortgage rates and pay for their closing costs.

Let’s take a closer look at data that was originally compiled by ResiClub as it relates to how unsold new home inventory increased between July 2016 and July 2025:

The unsold new home number for July 2025 was the highest number since July 2009 (126,000), which was when the housing market was near the previous bottom during the depths of the Great Recession.

7. The most important word in the “single-family home” description is family. As the family unit continues to rapidly decline, it will directly impact future home value trends.

Here’s some other family trends that I’ve shared in past articles such as The Interplay of Medical, Insurance, and Housing Financial Burdens:

* The overall divorce rate in Orange County, CA is 72%; it’s 60% in California; and 50%+ nationwide.
* 41% of first marriages end in divorce, 60% of second marriages end in divorce, and 73% of third marriages end in divorce.
* The average length of a marriage in the U.S. that ends in divorce is 8 years from start to finish.
* Since 1990, divorce rates for people over 50 have doubled; they’ve tripled for people over 65.
* The U.S. now has the highest percentage of single-person households in the world and lowest marriage rates ever.
* U.S. fertility rates are the lowest ever, as fewer babies are born.
* USA is #1 for highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world.
* Approximately 50% of children are born to unmarried women under 30 here in the USA.

8. The purchasing power of $1 fell to about 7 cents over the past 50 years, so most of the dollar’s decline in value has taken place during this 50-year time period that followed the removal of the dollar from the gold standard during the 1971-1973 years as I shared in the Asset Prices Surge Amidst Dollar Devaluation Trends article.

Because real estate is an exceptional hedge against inflation as home values tend to rise at least more than double the annual published inflation rates, this has actually been a positive for homeownership and a huge negative for other products and services.

9. The median household family income is not keeping up with rising costs for things like housing, cars, education and healthcare. This is partly due to rising divorce and unemployment rates and the ongoing collapsing purchasing power of the dollar.

For example, let’s compare income and expense data dating back to 1970, which was just one year before President Nixon removed our dollar from the gold standard and inflation skyrocketed, while our purchasing power imploded over the past 50+ years.

The median U.S. household income increased from $10,000 in 1970 up to $106,000 in 2025, which was an increase of 10x (or 10 times). Please note that this is household income, which may include multiple income sources from the adult occupants.

While the rising household income was a positive, the negatives were as follows during that same 1970 to 2025 timespan:

● Median U.S. home prices rose from $25,000 to $445,000 (double this amount in California), which was an increase of 17x.
● Median car prices jumped from $3,600 to almost $50,000, which was an increase of 14x.
● The median college price rose from $2,900 per year to $45,000, an increase of 16x.
● The average costs of healthcare per person skyrocketed from $350 to $14,600 per year, which was a massive increase of 42x.
Source: The Finance Newsletter

Positive Housing and Economic Trends

1. More than 40% of owner-occupied single-family homes are now owned free-and-clear with no mortgage debt. Homeowners with no debt are much more likely to not sell at hefty future discounted prices because many of these homeowners, or their heirs, can just sit back and wait for the housing market to strengthen again.

2. Large billion and trillion-dollar corporations like BlackRock, Vanguard (largest BlackRock shareholder), Blackstone (a BlackRock spinoff and the world’s largest commercial real estate owner) continue to purchase both residential and commercial real estate.

3. An increasing number of foreign buyers from places like China, Japan, and India keep purchasing U.S. real estate. As per this linked video from the Econofin team, there’s potentially a $56 billion dollar cash buyer invasion from foreign investors (a +44% foreign investor percentage surge) that is keeping real estate demand steady in many U.S. regions.

4. The ongoing “shadow inventory” of distressed residential and commercial real estate properties and mortgages, which includes the estimated all-time record high 12%+ of all FHA loans that are currently delinquent and trillions of dollars’ worth of ballooning commercial mortgages, are continued to be delayed via “extend and pretend” strategies or silently being sold off to huge investment funds. As a result, these strategies are artificially suppressing the residential and commercial real estate inventories that may keep values at least flat instead of rapidly declining.

5. Both short-term and long-term rates are expected to keep falling in 2026. Lower rates make home purchases more affordable for an increasing number of buyers. Mark Zandi, the well-known Moody’s Analytics economist, forecasts at least three rate cuts in 2026 as shared in this recent CNBC article.

6. Existing-home sales are projected to rise by around 14% in 2026, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, partly due to lower rates and increasing home listings for sale.

7. The dollar is more likely to keep falling in 2026 which, in turn, should push asset values higher like we saw in 2025 with these asset gains:

● S&P 500: +16.65%
● Nasdaq 100: +20.14%
● Dow Jones: +13.40%
● Russell 2000: +11.31%
● Gold: +61.48%
● Silver: +139.21%

Source: The Market Hustle

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Back in Rome in 284 AD, Spain in 1607, the Netherlands in 1815, and Great Britain in 1931, each region saw the price of gold and silver triple just a few years before their economic and currency resets. We’ve seen the same thing happen here with skyrocketing gold and silver prices in the U.S. in recent times, interestingly.

8. Pending home sales jumped +3.3% month-over-month in November 2025, as per the NAR. This was the 4th-consecutive monthly gain, which matched the longest streak seen during the 2020 pandemic declaration dates. The West posted the largest pending home sales increase, which is very positive for our home state region of California and other nearby states.

9. There were almost 40 million more people who lived in the U.S. in 2025 than back in 2007. Because there’s still a shortage of affordable housing to rent or buy, the demand for properties should remain solid.

Be Proactive, Not Reactive

Whether you think that the housing market will boom, bust, or be flat in 2026 for your target housing region, there will still be opportunities.

For buyers, you may have much less competition to write up discounted offers that may be more likely to be accepted by a motivated seller with a property listing that is sluggish at 6 months DOM (Days on Market) or longer. It’s better to be the only buyer prospect than having to compete with 80+ other buyers or investors willing to pay prices well above the list price.

If both home values and rates drop significantly in 2026, it may allow you the option to buy your very first home or rental property. If so, this is positive news for you to build up your future net worth by being brave enough to purchase in today’s hectic world.

Please research on almost a daily basis to stay on top of housing market trends. In any type of housing market and economic cycle, there are fortunes waiting to be created for those people willing to take action instead of just being fearfully reactive and/or inactive.

The more you learn, the more likely that you will survive and thrive in 2026 and beyond.

Rick Tobin has worked in the real estate, financial, investment, and writing fields for the past 30+ years. He’s held eight (8) different real estate, securities, and mortgage brokerage licenses to date and is a graduate of the University of Southern California.

Rick provides creative residential and commercial mortgage solutions for clients across the nation. He’s also written college textbooks and real estate licensing courses in most states for the two largest real estate publishers in the nation; the oldest real estate school in California; and the first online real estate school in California.

Please visit his website at Realloans.com for financing options, join his investment group at So-Cal Real Estate Investors, and follow his new So-Cal Real Estate TV channel for more details.

Rick Tobin
Realloans (Real Estate Loans)
https://realloans.com/
Phone or Text: (760) 485 – 2422
NMLS 1934868
Equal Housing Opportunity / Equal Housing Lender
To quickly apply online: Loan Application
For our real estate course: Learn Real Estate

Please follow our new real estate channel (watch on television, computers, and phones): So-Cal Real Estate TV

Our Facebook business pages: Realloans, Inside Los Angeles, Inside Pacific Palisades, Inside Long Beach, Inside Huntington Beach, Inside Orange County, Inside La Jolla, Inside San Diego, Inside Lake Elsinore, Inside Temecula Valley, Inside Coachella Valley, and So-Cal Real Estate Investors.

Here are some of my articles: The Fall of 2025 and Rise of New Opportunities, The Intersection of Declining Home Sales and Creative Marketing, Are Lower Rates on the Horizon?, Weather Extremes, Homes, and Insurance Risks, The California Gold Rush Boom, and Are You Focused on Commercial Real Estate?

Please join my So-Cal Real Estate Investors group that meets at Canyon Lake Golf & Country Club, Shoreline Yacht Club in Long Beach, and online: So-Cal Real Estate Investors.