Scoring a real estate deal is a thrill…but in certain places, it’s smarter to pay top dollar. A new Realtor.com study reveals where investors are scoring bargains and where they’re shelling out premiums.

Investors landed the biggest steals in Michigan, paying an average of $118,000—53.1% below the state’s median price. They also snagged hefty discounts in:

• Maryland (45.4%, $231,000)
• Virginia (45%, $230,000)
• Delaware (41.4%, $238,000)
• Wisconsin (40.7%, $175,000)

On the splurgy side, investors paid the most over typical prices (35.1%) in Montana, coughing up an average of $574,000. That’s followed by:

• Utah (33.7%, $667,000)
• California (23.3%, $909,000)
• New York (12.3%, $554,000)
• Vermont (3.2%, $382,000)

Why the big divide? “We’re seeing a clear split in investor strategy,” explains Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones. “Some investors are doubling down on affordability, while others are willing to pay a premium for markets with persistent housing shortages and strong rental demand.”

This two-pronged tactic pays off even more when targeting specific cities. Here’s where investors scored the biggest discounts:

• Detroit (58%, $106,000)
• Pittsburgh (52.7%, $115,000)
• Baltimore (52%, $186,000)
• Cleveland (51.4%, $113,000)
• Milwaukee (50.1%, $164,000)

Meanwhile, investors overpaid by the most in these cities:

• Los Angeles (19.8%, $1,198,000)
• San Diego (9.2%, $990,000)
• New York City (8.7%, $741,000)
• San Francisco (6.8%, $1,296,000)
• Nashville (3.4%, $477,000)

Shawn Zar at Sell My House Fast learned firsthand that going both high and low can be a winning strategy. “I recently bought a home in Shreveport, LA, 18% under market. We fixed it up, and it’s already rented. But we also paid 10% over for a place near the port in Savannah, GA. Demand there never drops. The best deal isn’t always the cheapest.”

Learn more about just how high and low investors go.

President Trump’s childhood home is for sale, again. The Tudor in Queens, NY, where Trump spent his first four years, has changed hands numerous times and even sat vacant for a stretch. An investor snapped it up in February for $835,000, gave it a glow-up, and just listed it for $2.3 million. That’s quite the increase—but you’ll get it once you see inside.

Mortgage rates under 1%? To reel in buyers, home builder D.R. Horton is offering loans with an introductory rate below 1%. That adds up to nearly $1,000 in savings per month, but you must act fast.

🫣 Foreclosures are rising. But no need to panic; they’re actually a sign of a healthy housing market.

Infinity pool? So uncool. Once the ultimate flex in luxury listings, these sleek swim spots aren’t popping up in listings nearly as often these days, plunging by 24.7% over the past year, according to Realtor.com. The new status symbol? Humble WaterSense fixtures (which reduce water use) have surged a splashy 289.6%. Here are some other home trends that are making waves and drying up right now.

From zero to $1 million in seven years: Here’s how one real estate investor pulled it off, and the one part he hated and left behind.

The dark side of data centers: One homeowner warns what a massive new facility one mile away could do to his home’s value.

’Tis the season to…snag a free house on Nantucket, MA, worth millions. The catch? You have to move it.

Dreaming of your own indoor water park? One of the nation’s largest homes (50,000+ square feet, lazy river, waterslide) just got a $5 million markdown. Dive into these pics.

Secret doors aren’t just for supervillains. Steve Humble has built and sold over 5,000 hidden passageways since launching Creative Home Engineering in Gilbert, AZ, at the age of 23. Here, he opens up about why so many homes have them hiding in plain sight, as well as the benefits.

Q: How did you get into building secret doors? “I never thought I would be doing this as my career. I went to school to become a mechanical engineer and worked for Boeing and Honeywell on military turbine engines. I liked those jobs, but realized I wasn’t cut out to work in cubicles. I had always been fascinated by secret doors. When I Googled it, there was nobody building anything close to what I imagined. So I quit my job, moved in with my parents, and hung out my shingle. My mother cried and asked, ‘What are you doing?’ But it didn’t take long for people to start calling me.”

Q: Do you have secret doors in your house? “I have five. One is hidden behind a fireplace. If you play the right notes on a piano—I chose the James Bond theme—the fireplace slides back to reveal a hallway leading to a balcony with a rope you can swing down into the basement sports court. The neighborhood kids love it. Another secret door opens when you move chess pieces to the right spot. One leads to a mechanical equipment room, another to storage for Christmas decorations, and another (behind a bookcase) hides an emergency food supply. And I have a bulletproof gun room disguised as a full-length mirror, opened by a fingerprint scanner hidden in the frame.”

Q: What does your family think about what you do? “My wife wasn’t impressed when we met; she would have preferred I had a stable job like a dentist. But now that the business is successful, she appreciates it. My kids are 14, 11, and 9, and kids are constantly trying to get a playdate at our place.”

Q: Why would regular homeowners and investors want to add secret doors to their homes? “People think safes are secure, but most can be broken into quickly; they’re also a neon sign saying ‘valuables here.’ Camouflage is far more effective and fun. Many of my clients are millionaires storing valuables, but we have a division called Hiddendoorstore.com specializing in affordable $1,000+ designs for middle-class clients who want smoking rooms, wine bars, gun rooms, or love dungeons. If my clients don’t volunteer what it’s for, we don’t ask, since we’re in the secrecy business. I’ve built secret doors for neighbors right next door to each other who have no idea they both have secret doors. They’re more common than you think. And from a real estate perspective, secret doors can make a house more desirable. I’ve had clients who couldn’t sell their home, then added a secret passageway to the listing and sold immediately. Buyers remember the house with the secret door.”

Click here to explore more secret doors.

President Trump has pitched the 50-year mortgage as a cure-all for America’s housing woes—comparing it to FDR’s rollout of the 30-year loan during the Great Depression. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte confirmed on X that a 50-year loan is in the works, calling it “a complete game changer.” But the idea sparked a backlash among economists. Why? The math isn’t exactly mathing.

To begin with, longer mortgages typically have higher interest rates. With 30-year rates at 6.32%, a 50-year would be around 6.80%, according to HousingWire’s lead analyst Logan Mohtashami. For a $400,000 house, 50-year loan holders would cough up $1,007,423 in interest over the life of the loan. Meanwhile, 30-year mortgage holders would pay only $493,198 in interest, but with similar monthly payments of $2,481 compared to $2,346 for 50-year borrowers.

Bottom line: A 50-year mortgage may save borrowers $135 per month, but will extract $514,225 more in interest by the time you wrap up mortgage payments from a rocking chair. Here’s more on why the numbers don’t add up on 50-year loans.