Early Real Estate Investing Trends to Make You More Money in 2026

Early Real Estate Investing Trends to Make You More Money in 2026

“Ride the wave, don’t fight the tide.”

“Be early, not first.”

“Go where the puck is going, not where it’s been.”

Want to know how many of the very successful made it?

They caught a trend early enough. I’m not saying hard work wasn’t required, or that it was “easy”. Far from it. But the barriers to entry are lessened when you catch a trend. Think about when SMS marketing was popular. The people who caught that early made a killing. Or even wholesaling 10 years. There were far fewer wholesalers in 2016. 

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Well, there are some moving trends right that every REI should pay attention to (because most are still looking the other way):

1. Switch from Flipping to Brrrrr
2. Ugly house flipping
3. Direct mail
4. AI-Lists
5. Social media (sounds “old” but AI searches will require it)
6. More “window shopping” sellers
7. Creative finance is easier

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1. Switch from Flipping to BRRRR

ROI on flips is down at a historic low, and more inventors are going to Brrrr as an exit strategy.

Let me explain…

Two recent articles showed this: 

Flipping ROI is below 25% since 2008. 

More flipping moving to Brrrr in 2026.

In Q3 2025, the typical flip returned 23.1%. Compare that to the decade from 2009 to 2019 when flippers were consistently pulling 40-60% returns. We've now had five straight quarters of returns in the 20% range. Markets have cooled off. What used to take 24 hours to sell now takes 30-60 days in many areas. Inventory is up. Days on market have tripled. When you flip, you're betting on a quick exit.

If the house sits even two extra months, you're bleeding money on interest.

BRRRR is gaining traction because it removes the exit timing risk. You renovate, get a tenant in, then refinance to pull your capital back out. You're not sitting around hoping someone buys it in a slow market.

The other advantage? You keep the asset. Even if your refinance doesn't work out perfectly and you have to leave some money in the deal, rents go up over time. What might cash flow negative by $100 a month today could be positive in a year or two.

When returns drop this low, the math changes. 

And so does the exit. 

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2. Ugly House Flipping

I love ugly houses. Always have.

But in the last 2-3 years there’s been a ot of investors avoid ing ugly ones for the “pretty wholetailing” ones. And I get it. No work and same amount of profit… the issue is that in 2026 those will be harder to come by while the typical investor is skipping over the ugly house becasue it’s “too much work”. It is work… but if you have a system of managing the rehab it makes it a whole lot easier.

Ugly houses can be a gold mine right now. Especially in this economy.

Buyers still want good houses. The retail market is still sideways for people… so the answer is to ADD value.  And you don't have to arm wrestle the seller on price. The discount already speaks for itself. 

If you want to see how many leads and potential ugly houses are in your area, go here.

3. Direct Mail

Few investors are doing direct mail right now.

The entry costs scare people off. Postal rates are expensive. Most investors hear "$2,000 minimum to start" and never test it.

But here's what's changing. Print shops are competing hard with each other. Normal costs run around $0.60-$0.70 per piece. Some shops will get you down to $0.50 if you buy in bulk.

The smart move isn't picking one channel. It's building a multi-level marketing machine. Digital leads, cold calling, direct mail. Multiple legs for your lead gen. When one slows down, the others keep feeding you deals.

With fewer investors mailing right now, you're hitting sellers with less competition in their mailbox.

If you can handle the upfront cost, 2026 is a good time to add mail to your system.

4. AI Lists

AI lists are starting to get really good.

Most investors still pull lists the old way. Absentee owner, high equity, vacant, pre-foreclosure. Static traits.

AI lists are different. They're lead scoring with AI. The software looks at patterns from people who actually sold and ranks your list by probability.

Length of ownership, equity trends, mortgage age, payment changes, tax irregularities. Pattern recognition at scale.

The smart way to use them? Priority lists. Hit them first with better follow-up. Layer them into your normal marketing.

They don't replace follow-up. They make it more efficient.

The mistake is expecting instant deals. These are probability scores, not guarantees. If you have a follow-up system, AI lists amplify it. If you only close same-week deals, skip them.

5. Social Media

Most investors don't post on social media. At all.

They're running their business through direct mail, cold calling, and paid ads. Social media feels like a waste of time when it doesn't directly generate deals.

But here's what's changing. AI search engines are now looking at credibility before they list companies in search results.

Someone searches "we buy houses in [city]" and Google's AI doesn't just pull up anyone with a website. It's checking if you're a real company. Social media presence is one of those credibility signals.

No Facebook? No LinkedIn? No Instagram with actual posts? The AI might skip you entirely.

This isn't about going viral or posting daily. It's about having a presence that says you're legitimate.

Combine this with a multi-layered approach. Digital leads, your own ads, and a basic social media footprint. All working together.

If AI search starts filtering you out for not having social presence, you won't even get the chance to compete.

6. More "Window Shopping" Sellers

Interest rates shifted something important.

Most mortgaged homeowners now have rates around 5.75-6.5%. Not sub-3%. That "golden handcuffs" argument that dominated 2022-2024? It's weakening.

Selling doesn't feel as painful as it used to.

And even expectations of lower rates change behavior. Not transactions yet. Mindset first. Homeowners start thinking "maybe prices stabilize" or "maybe I can move without getting punished”. That creates window shopping sellers. They're not desperate, but they're open to conversations.

This is huge for wholesalers because these sellers need nurture and follow-up more than anything. That means a dialed-in follow-up system that helps convert months later.

The investors who win here build trust over time, run multi-channel nurture, and treat their CRM like an asset. Deals come from 90-365 day follow-ups.

Combine this with digital leads, direct mail, and consistent follow-up.

7. Creative Finance is Easier

Sellers are getting savvier.

Terms like seller financing, subject-to, and wrap mortgages used to confuse people. Now? They Google it before you finish your pitch.

Information is everywhere. YouTube, Reddit, Facebook groups. Sellers can look up what these terms mean in five minutes. They understand the concepts faster than they used to.

That changes the game. You can lead with creative finance as your front-end offer instead of hiding it until the third conversation.

Some sellers are even asking about it first. They've heard about it from a friend or saw a post online. They're curious if it's an option.

This doesn't mean every seller will say yes. But the education barrier is gone. You're not starting from scratch explaining how it works.

If you know how to structure deals creatively, 2026 is going to be a good year for it.

Bonus tip ... Ramp up digital:

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The trend of digital use is still growing. It’s easier and easier for sellers to look up “house buying company” because they already know that house buying companies exist.

If you haven’t spoke to us about what digital leads costs in YOUR market… get on a call with us here and we’ll show you live. 

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