Optimism Asterisk

Confidence returns, but hidden costs and recession chatter test investor nerves

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Splits and Caps Daily: Action for Agents

August 19, 2025

📈 Market Move:

Sentiment Swings

After two years in the dumps, real estate investors are finally perking up. A new report shows optimism creeping back, thanks to a true buyers market — more inventory, longer days on market, and price cuts giving flippers and landlords some real negotiating power.

But here’s the catch:

  • Labor squeeze → Mass deportations + slowing immigration = fewer skilled workers, higher costs. Almost half of investors say it’s hitting their bottom line.

  • Insurance headaches → 74% say rising premiums or lack of coverage is messing with deals. Over half actually missed opportunities because of it.

  • Recession fears → Even with sentiment up, 57% of investors think we’ll be in a recession before year-end.

Bottom line: Investor mood is improving, but it’s fragile. Costs are climbing, uncertainty is everywhere, and the “good deals” come with more hidden risks than ever.

🌟Quote of the Day:

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” — Seneca

Quick Win:

One-Page Plan – Write your main goal and the 3 things you’ll do this week to move toward it. Hang it where you see it daily.

🎉 Fun Fact of the Day: 

Beach Bucks: 🏖️ In Malibu, some beach houses are literally smaller than the garages of Midwest homes… but cost $10M+.

📚 Book Recommendation:

“Barking Up the Wrong Tree” by Eric Barker — This book is like MythBusters for success advice. You know all those clichés we’ve been fed? “Nice guys finish last,” “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” “Winners never quit.” Barker takes each one, flips it upside down, and shows you the messy, counterintuitive truth hiding underneath.

The takeaway: Success isn’t one-size-fits-all. Sometimes the “rules” are dead wrong, and sometimes they’re right—but only if you know when to break them.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re grinding hard but not playing the right game, this book hands you the cheat codes.

The best version of you is already in progress.

What did you think of today’s edition?
Hit ‘reply’ to this email and let us know!

Learn from this investor’s $100m mistake

In 2010, a Grammy-winning artist passed on investing $200K in an emerging real estate disruptor. That stake could be worth $100+ million today.

One year later, another real estate disruptor, Zillow, went public. This time, everyday investors had regrets, missing pre-IPO gains.

Now, a new real estate innovator, Pacaso – founded by a former Zillow exec – is disrupting a $1.3T market. And unlike the others, you can invest in Pacaso as a private company.

Pacaso’s co-ownership model has generated $1B+ in luxury home sales and service fees, earned $110M+ in gross profits to date, and received backing from the same VCs behind Uber, Venmo, and eBay. They even reserved the Nasdaq ticker PCSO.

Paid advertisement for Pacaso’s Regulation A offering. Read the offering circular at invest.pacaso.com. Reserving a ticker symbol is not a guarantee that the company will go public. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.

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