Join Phil Pustejovsky, Devin Sheehan, and Brian Busch as they revisit their bold predictions from earlier this year and unpack where the real estate market stands halfway through 2025.

In this candid and insightful video, the team dives into:

• Interest rate trends and unexpected economic hurdles
• The push for 100% bonus depreciation and its impact on investors
• Rising inventory levels across the U.S.—and what that means for buyers, sellers, and investors
• Tactical advice for navigating high-inventory markets

Whether you're an active investor or thinking of buying or selling a home, this video offers street-smart insights and actionable advice to thrive in today’s shifting market.

Looking Back at 2025 Predictions

Phil: Real estate market analysis 2025. We are in June, and I'm Phil Pustejovsky, joined by Devin Sheehan and Brian Busch, two of the sharpest minds in creative real estate investing. Together we are Freedom Mentor, giving you an analysis of the residential real estate market as it pertains to you as an investor—or if you're looking to buy or sell a home. Gentlemen, thanks so much for joining me.

Brian: Great to be here.

Devin: Absolutely, Phil.

Predictions on Interest Rates

Phil: We're doing something that I never see sports analysts do. We're going to “own up” to our predictions. About six months ago, we made some forecasts for 2025. And we covered a lot of great topics. So, let's go over those and how we did. Brian, I'll start with you and interest rates. You predicted that they would come down, but it would be gradual. How was your prediction?

Brian: Unfortunately, a little more gradual than I was hoping. They've barely inched down, of course, I didn't anticipate the tariff battle. But now that we’ve made a deal with China, maybe things will stabilize. Overall, we've seen them come down some, but we need to see more movement to stimulate the market more. So, yes—I was technically right, but I wish I’d been more right.

Phil: So what impact do the current interest rates have on the market?

Brian: I think it has a lot of people stuck in place. If rates could hit around 5%, we’d see more movement. Right now, people are waiting things out. And they're just going to wait to see what happens. You know, everybody's seen the cost of eggs come down, but we need to see more. It's just apparently going to take some more time.

Policy Watch: Bonus Depreciation

Phil: Devin, you had predicted that the Trump administration would work to bring bonus depreciation back to 100%. It’s at 40% now in 2025. How did you do?

Devin: We're right on track with that prediction. Given President Trump’s background as a developer, this push was expected in the big, beautiful bill. The bill has passed the House and is waiting in the Senate. But what this does for the bonus depreciation is it encourages investors to get back in the game—it lets them shield more income during tax season and pour more funds in their pockets and into improving assets. So, I think it's going to give a nice jump back into the marketplace for those that are currently investing and plan to invest.

Phil: Absolutely. But one question I would have, Devin: Would it push more investors to, by optimizing their units, create more inventory in the marketplace because now they're given a tax deduction for updating their properties?

Devin: They’ll upgrade their units, provide better-quality units to tenants, and likely buy more properties. So, it's going to give more inventory because they’ll feel more comfortable about spending money again.

Inventory Levels and Market Dynamics

Phil: Such a huge win for the investors if that part of the legislation gets all the way through and gets signed. But I'm also eyeing the issue of inventory. I'm going to tell on myself here: I was wrong. I didn’t see inventory climbing like it has, especially in Florida where I am and Brian, there in Texas. Inventory levels have climbed dramatically. Redfin recently reported a disparity of over 500,000 between active sellers and buyers—the biggest gap ever recorded by them. So what we're seeing in Florida and in certain other markets in the South and Southeast and the West is that properties are sitting on the market longer, and that's because of increased inventory.

Devin, your Northeast market tells a different story. I think a lot of builders thought the entire country after COVID was going to move south to be in the warmer climates. Well, y’all have the last laugh now because we're dealing with dropping prices in certain markets and I know you've got several active deals, Devin, and the market is active there relative to the amount of inventory. Houses are selling very quickly. So, it is specific to the area, but y’all, I was wrong. Inventory levels have risen.

What Rising Inventory Means for Investors

Phil: So Brian, what happens in markets like Texas and Florida when the inventory levels rise dramatically?

Brian: Obviously you're going to see a slowdown in price increases. I don't know that we're going to see a huge drop, but obviously with more inventory we move towards a buyer's market. From our perspective, we're not buying properties on MLS—we work directly with sellers. We're looking for motivated sellers, and those are the sellers that must make a move—divorce, job loss, death in the family, whatever that may be. Those folks need a solution and they can't sell quickly with the added inventory.

As a result, it brings us more business and we find ourselves doing more creative deals because oftentimes these may be folks that don't have a huge amount of equity, they need to get that something done quickly. They can't do it with the traditional agents and that's where we're able to come in and help save the day and have a good opportunity—provide a win-win.

Phil: You used the phrase a buyer's versus a seller's market. From what you just described, Brian, it sounds like we're in an investor's market.

Brian: Yeah, absolutely. I think that we're going to see more and more opportunity for investors. Of course, it depends on what you're focusing on. Obviously there's tried and true—let's renovate properties—but we've seen a lot more creative deals in the past six months, as we anticipated we would: people selling subject-to, some owner finance, folks that are kind of stuck. Otherwise, we are seeing some of those low-interest rate deals—you know, taking over at three and a quarter. Not every market, because we had one apprentice that was struggling to find a buyer because the mortgage PITI was a lot higher than the rental rates. Again, it's going to vary market by market, but we've still seen a lot of success with those.

Seller Strategy in High-Inventory Markets

Phil: So, Devin, you spend a lot of time helping buyers and sellers as well as being a top producing agent. For a home seller that comes up to you—not in your area but in an area with higher inventory—what are you telling a seller of a home? What advice do you have for them in a high inventory environment?

Devin: As you alluded to, Phil, in my market, it still is a seller's market. The inventory is very low. There are multiple offers, and the demand is high. So if you have a property in the Northeast, you're going to get multiple offers and strong pricing.

If you're in one of the markets, as you shared, where the inventory's high, you need to be more aware of your pricing. I always like to share with sellers: if you were going to make an offer on a property and you saw a property you love on day one, what type of offer would you make? Versus if you saw a property on day 45—your offer would be completely different. So overpricing your property—oftentimes sellers like to start higher and go lower. You never want to be that seller. You always want to be the seller starting at a good price. And if the property is worth more, the market will take it and drive it up.

Advice for Buyers in a High-Inventory Market

Phil: What about if someone's looking to buy a home right now in a high inventory environment, what advice do you have for them?

Devin: I would say, don't be scared of the interest rates. Those are going to come down. You can refi later and be aggressive with your offers, because if the seller truly is motivated to sell, they're going to have to put it together. The last thing they want is to continue sitting on the market and, in 90 days, have to lower it even more than maybe what you would’ve offered. So be aggressive with your offers and don't be afraid of the interest rate. Get in, refi out, and make an aggressive offer.

Freedom Mentor Strategy in Action

Phil: That's great advice. I had put a video together several years ago on how to sell a home the Freedom Mentor Way, called Best Way to Sell a House Fast, and I strongly encourage everyone to watch that if you're looking to sell. Because our method produces multiple-offer situations, even in high inventory environments. We just had one of our apprentices in Louisiana—he put a property on the market for $600,000. He had four offers and, after escalation clauses, the winner paid $640,000 for it. That’s in a market that has a lot of inventory.

So if the formula is done right, if the methods are done right, you can do very well—even in high inventory markets. And I’m telling all my friends around here in Florida—this is going to be the time to buy that trophy property. If they’re looking to buy a home right now, they’re going to be able to be aggressive. And what I also love, Devin, is there are properties coming on the market that rarely come on the market. Because there’s such a lack of buyers, you’re going to hit that winner.

I'm also telling them—be patient to find the winner because the winner's coming. You don’t have to feel like there’s no good deals ever going to hit the market. They're going to hit. And then, as you said, be aggressive with that price as soon as it hits—because you can be. This is kind of trophy hunting. This is where someone buys a home that they can live in for the next 20 years—that’s got the perfect location, the right school systems, enough land—all those kinds of attributes. Again, I think it’s a really exciting time for an investor and for a home buyer. As for a seller—well, you better follow the formula or else you're going to be in a heap of trouble.

More on the Freedom Mentor Way

Brian: To throw in there—to your point, selling the Freedom Mentor Way—I was talking to an apprentice just this morning who is putting his rehab on the market. He's looking at comps in the $430,000 range. He considered being around $425,000. He doesn’t necessarily want to run into the problem he did last time selling the Freedom Mentor Way, where he priced it too low and ended up with just a headache of a weekend with like 35 showings.

So in this case, he's debating: do I list it at $400K and get a huge amount of traffic? Do I go in a little higher? But either way, he's well positioned, and as Devin was alluding to, we're not going to be sitting on the market for 90 days and learning the hard way. We know how to get it moved quickly. And of course, he’s in the Northeast, so he’s got low inventory which will benefit him as well.

Strategies for Real Estate Investors in 2025

Phil: So Devin, what advice do you have for investors for the second half of 2025? What do they need to focus on?

Consistent Marketing

Devin:
I think investors need to focus on being consistent with their marketing. There are always deals to be found. As I always come back to—there are life situations that people go through that cause them to have to sell and be motivated. I would say just be consistent. Your consistency is the key to getting deals done. Knowing that a deal’s going to come—it may not be on the first few leads, but it’s going to be on the next one. And that is the best advice I give to our students and to other investors: stay consistent with your marketing and deals are going to happen.

Phil: How about you, Brian?

Be Patient

Brian: I would say what you mentioned earlier: patience. I think it’s very important that as you’re marketing, as you’re getting plenty of leads coming your way—that you’re patient. And going back to basics, the fundamentals when we evaluate deals. Not trying to turn the proverbial loser into a winner just because you’re desperate to do deals. You have to be patient and make sure that it makes sense.

I talked to an apprentice this morning that had two leads come her way. One of them is pretty much selling at retail. There's not a lot of room because it’s not a motivated seller per our definition. So just learning to be patient. Learning to pick the deals that make the most sense. And of course, in her case, one of those was a rehab. So, you have to ask yourself—do I want to take on a rehab just to stay busy? Or do I want to just be patient? Maybe go for the quick nickel over the slow dime. Leave that headache for someone else so I’m available to pick up on the next deals that are coming my way.

Simplify and Multiply

Phil: Absolutely. I love that. I love what you shared too, Devin. I'm all about having our people simplify and multiply in an environment like this. Keep it simple with getting the deal under contract, trying to find a buyer as quickly as you can. Long rehabs, that gets complicated. And if there’s rising inventory, you can’t as easily predict what the property’s truly going to sell for.

Keep it simple and just do more of that. As you said, Devin—if you’re consistent with your marketing you’re going to have deals roll through. Simplify and multiply. Make sure you’re following the right advice. Freedom Mentor—this is what we’ve been doing for nearly 20 years now. You see our passion. You see our expertise. This is our world.

So, work with people like us so that you are making the right decisions. You can’t afford to make a mistake right now. This isn’t 2022 anymore. You can’t just get lucky. You need to do it right, and you must have the right advice around you—the right advisors—to help put you in the right position. That’s what we do here at Freedom Mentor. We mentor; we coach—we turn y’all into money-making machines. We loved your comments. We'd love your feedback, so please feel free to share with us your predictions on the second half of 2025.

If you have questions for us, text FREEDOM to 305-315-8030 or post a comment below.

Every Successful Real Estate Investor Has a Mentor

If you're contemplating diving into real estate, now might be the perfect time to explore a coaching relationship with our team at Freedom Mentor. Let us guide you through the opportunities that lie ahead in 2025: Freedom Mentor Apprentice Program.