Investors are excited about 2026

Real estate investors are optimistic about investing conditions and are looking to grow in 2026, according to BiggerPockets’ Q4 2025 Investor Pulse Survey.

Despite a slow and uncertain market in 2025, investor sentiment has improved over the last 12 months, and expectations are high for 2026. Across experience levels and geographic regions, investors see opportunity in the year to come, citing diverse benefits in the current market, such as:

• Lower mortgage rates
  
• Increased negotiating leverage
  
• Falling prices
  
• Better inventory

However, with lower affordability, rising expenses, and oversaturation in certain markets, tactics have to change to make the most of these new opportunities. 

Read on to get insights on how investors are approaching this year.

Overall, investors feel neutral about today's market, with a little over 40% claiming they feel the same as they did last year.

Looking ahead, most investors are expecting conditions to remain the same or somewhat improve.

By region, investors are least confident in the Northeast, where many expect conditions to decline.

On the other side of the coin, investors are concerned about rising costs, a lack of capital, and a lack of good deals.

For investors with 11+ properties, rising expenses are overwhelmingly top of mind.

When it comes to opportunities, investors are expecting mortgage rates to come down, more inventory to hit the market, and hope to see more deals come through.

Investors remain extremely bullish on owning long-term rentals, and a majority in each investor category, except those who own one property (49%), believe it remains the best strategy to pursue.

In distant second, owner-occupied units remain relatively popular.

Investors are adopting an aggressive mindset this year, with a strong majority planning to increase the size of their portfolios.

Overall, investors feel neutral about today's market, with a little over 40% claiming they feel the same as they did last year.

In a state-by-state breakdown, home price expectations are mixed. Most states are forecasted to stay flat, but 18 states are expected to decline. Most notably, Georgia and Indiana are projected to see declines by more than -5%.

Anchoring confidence this year are expectations for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

After falling slowly through 2025, the majority of investors now expect rates to stay below 6.5%, with the highest share expecting them to fall below 6% over the next 12 months.

Investors believe rents will increase or stay flat over the next year, with the Midwest expected to experience the most growth.

Investors keep track of the economy, but for most, it has little to moderate impact on their decisions.

Interestingly, investors with larger portfolios place less emphasis on the economy than those with smaller portfolios.

The recent discussion around a potential 50-year mortgage has left a bad taste in the mouths of investors. Over 35% had very negative feelings towards it, while another 25% had negative feelings.

Only around 14% of investors had a positive feeling.

BiggerPockets is a community of retail real estate investors, with over 3 million members, who in aggregate make up the largest bloc of residential property investors in the United States.

The BiggerPockets Pulse is a quarterly survey that measures and shares the sentiment and intended behavior of this important economic force.

About the Survey