January 2026 Newsletter – Making Connections and Understanding the 2026 Outlook

When things feel like they’re changing minute by minute, zooming out and taking a wider view is essential. It’s equally important, however, to focus in and form connections with people in your community.

This newsletter offers a bit of both of these things. If you’re looking for connection and are in the Houston area, we invite you to join us for our next Coffee Connect event. For the wider view, read our blog about our 2026 outlook compared with Marcus & Millichap’s takeaways.

We’ve also got some stories about the latest Fed decision and the rise of single-family rentals in Houston.

Houston Coffee Connect

If you’re in Houston and haven’t had time to join us for Coffee Connect, we don’t want to give you FOMO, but it’s really true that you are missing a great experience.

We’ve formed some wonderful connections, and we can’t wait to see where the event goes from here. We hope you’ll join us for the next one. No matter when you’re reading this, you can always find out about the next event on our Eventbrite page.

Did Our 2026 Outlook Align With Marcus & Millichap? Find Out!

If you’ve come to any of our webinars, you probably know that we refer to Marcus & Millichap often. They offer in-depth, data-rich analysis of the commercial real estate landscape and beyond.

One week after our 2026 outlook, Marcus & Millichap shared theirs, so we decided to compare some of what they reported with what we talked about in our webinar. If you want to see the full breakdown, you can read our blog about it, but here are some of the main highlights:

• We are likely to see GDP growth bottom out before it recovers
• A weaker job market and inflation are likely on the horizon
• If we are facing a recession or possible depression, it’s important to prepare by diversifying your investments
• Dallas and Houston are still great areas to invest in, ranking #1 and #5 in the Top U.S. Markets to Watch by PwC
• Many of our concerns were echoed in the Marcus & Millichap webcast

To read the full comparison, check out our blog.

Fed Rates Remaining at 3.6%

While we saw three rate cuts last year, the Federal Reserve hasn’t started 2026 with another cut, keeping the key rate at 3.6%.

The Fed used a stabilizing job market and solid growth as a rationalization to maintain consistent rates, with only two officials dissenting from the decision.

What does this mean for investors and prospective buyers? It’s likely that we won’t see another rate cut until around June. Jerome Powell, the Fed Chair, believes that the impact from tariffs has mostly already worked its way through inflation, with some peaks expected before things come down, barring any new significant tariff developments.

Read more on the latest decision from NBC New York.

Renting On the Rise in Houston

Renting, specifically single-family renting, is on the rise in Houston. The Houston Association of Realtors reported a 9.4 percent increase in single-family rentals in 2025 compared with 2024. New rental listings also increased 21.2 percent year-over-year.

One of the reasons Investream has focused on build-to-rent as one of our niches is due to this trend in Houston and in other areas. As individuals and families look for where to live, they are balancing affordability with lifestyle, making single-family rentals and similar configurations a great fit.

Read more about the rental rise on HAR.com.

Want More? Check Out Our Webinars!

If you enjoyed this content, don’t forget to visit our YouTube channel. You can find the full webinar of our 2026 outlook and more while you’re there.

Our goal is to provide you with the information and tools you need not only to make successful investment choices but also to become a more sophisticated and informed investor.

You can join us live by signing up to get our webinar emails!