Zillow's 0.3% national appreciation forecast signals a market where buyers have leverage they haven't had in years. Investors who understand this are moving. Brokers who understand it are closing.
National home price appreciation is running at 0.3% for 2026 according to Zillow's most recent forecast. That number gets read two different ways depending on who is reading it. Retail buyers and speculative flippers read it as a bad market. Patient investors with access to DSCR financing read it as a window.
Flat appreciation means sellers who have been waiting for prices to recover are starting to move. It means days on market are extending, which gives buyers negotiating room they have not had since 2019. It means price reductions are showing up at rates not seen since the post-pandemic correction, which creates acquisition opportunities for investors who can move quickly with certain financing.
The investors generating volume for their brokers right now are not waiting for rates to drop or for appreciation to return. They are using this moment to acquire at prices that work at today's rents, with loan structures that are built for the income model they are actually running.
The macro picture is not uniform. Markets that saw the most aggressive appreciation during 2020 to 2022 are showing the sharpest corrections. Markets with stable employment bases and constrained housing supply are holding values while seeing improved affordability due to rent growth outpacing price growth.
Price Reductions
Share of listings with a price cut — highest since 2018
Rent Growth (YoY)
Outpacing price appreciation in most DSCR markets
Investor Share
Brick City Capital's average — cash-equivalent close speed
When rent growth exceeds price appreciation, the income-to-value ratio improves. That is a DSCR story, not a flipping story. Properties that would not have cleared 1.0x DSCR eighteen months ago because purchase prices were inflated are now clearing because prices have corrected while rents have held or grown.
Price Reductions
Motivated sellers who have been waiting for a price recovery that is not coming are making decisions. An investor who calls with a cash-equivalent DSCR offer with a 21-day close can often negotiate to a price that works at current rents, which is the only number that matters for a hold strategy.
The brokers who capture the most DSCR volume in a flat appreciation environment are the ones who reframe the conversation with their investor clients. The conversation is not about timing the market. It is about acquisition price discipline and income underwriting.
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The Structural Opportunity
The investors who built portfolios in 2011 and 2012 were not timing the market. They were buying income at prices that worked based on what rents were actually doing. That is the same opportunity in front of disciplined investors right now. The difference between then and now is that the financing infrastructure for non-agency DSCR lending is far more developed, which means the acquisition process is faster, the underwriting is more flexible, and the hold options are more varied than they were fifteen years ago.
Submit a deal or call to talk through a specific acquisition. Term sheets in 24 hours.
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¹ All loans are for business purposes only and subject to Brick City Capital's underwriting, due diligence, and approval. Terms, amounts, and timelines may vary by borrower, property, and structure. Not all products are available in every state. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
² Representative examples are for illustrative purposes only. Past closings are not a guarantee of future results. Actual closing timelines and amounts will vary by transaction and borrower qualifications.
