.•30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate: 7.10%•15-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate: 7.35%•Fed Funds Rate: 5.25% - 5.50%•10-Year Treasury Yield: 4.45%•Housing Inventory: 632,000 active listings (33% with price reductions)With home affordability still a concern, any shift in rate expectations could have a major impact on both buyer demand and investor financing conditions.What Analysts Expect from This Week’s DataCPI Inflation Report (Tuesday, February 13)The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures changes in the cost of goods and services, serving as a key indicator of inflation.

Commissioner, 73 T.C. 766 (1980), specifically confirmed that rental management activities can qualify for the home office deduction, regardless of passive income classification.Key Considerations: 🔑The space must be used ONLY for rental managementNo personal activities or other business uses allowedMust maintain solid documentationActivities should be regular and substantialPro Tips: 💪Consider the simplified method ($5/sq ft, max 300 sq ft)[Rev.

I go to vacant properties at least weekly unless they are multi-family with active neighbors.)Generally speaking, if a property isn't moving (and others in the area are), either you are priced too high or there is something lacking with your property.

I plan on becoming more active in REI groups both online and locally as well. 

Keep watching the market and align yourself with people who are actively buying, they will have their fingers on the pulse of what is going on. 

Chicago has an active investing community, and being around experienced investors can accelerate your learning curve.One thing I wish I knew earlier: Always build your team early.

For REP status federally, you must meet two requirements: work 750+ hours in real estate activities and spend more than 50% of your total working hours on these activities during the tax year.

However, there's an obvious loophole to the claim because if you buy a house for 999K and then the value goes over 1 million then technically you're one of the 90% that just became a millionaire through real estate :) REIT investing is a much less active way of investing into the 11 major real estate sub-sectors, in the US we have 274 listed REITs on the major exchanges of NYSE and NASDAQ, and about 75-80 of them are not equity REITs but rather mortgage REITs, which I like to park cash in when 10yr yields are trending down to give me capital appreciation plus 14-15% dividend yields. check out alreits | Global REIT Researchto do more thorough individual research.

They will charge you more, but are much more active and could probably help.

I also actively invest in real estate myself, and I talk with investors regularly about how they evaluate deals.Out of curiosity, what key metrics do you use to decide whether a deal is worth pursuing?