Everywhere I go lately, I hear the same thing: “Scott… what’s really happening in the Austin market?” After going through numerous real estate cycles I’ve learned that headlines usually miss the real story. And right now, the real story is this: Austin isn’t depressed. It’s normalizing. That’s a big difference. If you look at the latest Austin MSA numbers, we’re seeing a market that’s finally behaving more like a real market again instead of the absolute chaos we saw during 2

Consider a self-employed investor who owns a small business, writes off nearly everything, and shows modest income on their tax returns — even though they're clearing well above that before deductions. They want to buy a single-family rental in Austin. A conventional lender looks at the tax returns and says no. A DSCR lender looks at the property and asks one question: does the projected rent cover the mortgage payment? It does. Loan approved. That's a DSCR loan doing exactly

If you own a condo, sit on an HOA board, or are thinking about buying one, you need to understand what just happened. On March 18, 2026, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac issued Lender Letter LL-2026-03 and Freddie Mac Bulletin 2026-C — a coordinated set of rule changes affecting which buildings qualify for conventional financing, how much documentation is required to close, and whether HOA dues are headed higher. Some changes take effect immediately. Others land later this year and