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First-time buyer and investment specialist Matt Garland, also known as "MG The Mortgage Guy," uses his 21 years of experience as a mortgage broker to educate the public about real estate. In this episode of Financial Freestyle with Ross Mac, Garland joins Mac to break down mortgages, the importance of homeownership, and his predictions for the 2025 real estate market.
Garland sees himself as a home ownership and real estate investor advocate, especially in the Black community. To him, owning real estate is important not just because most millionaires get their start in real estate, but also because of the long history of racial inequity when it comes to homeownership in the US. "In the Black and brown community, there was a time there was laws that were in place to stop us from buying real estate," he says. "There's people that came before you that didn't have this opportunity, and you need to be the person that leads the way for the new generation."
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He chooses to lead the way by educating others about buying and financing real estate. Garland breaks real estate basics down into what he calls the triple Cs: credit, capital, and capacity. The first C, credit, includes both credit score and credit utilization. The second C, capital, is the money needed to buy real estate. The third C, capacity, refers to the capacity for knowledge and resources.
Garland views capacity as the most important concept of the three when it comes to buying real estate. He says, "People are not focusing enough time studying all the different tools that are available out there to help you achieve and meet your real estate goals."
One of the topics where Garland thinks most people get things wrong is real estate financing. "Most people look at debt as bad, but I look at a mortgage debt as a good debt because it gives you the ability to buy real estate," he says.
When buying a primary residence, he recommends financing as much of it as possible. "I'd rather use the bank's money and finance as much as I possibly can on this property, so that way I can use my capital for other things and other investments so I can make money."
Garland also offers his predictions for the 2025 real estate market. "If you look at 2024, you have markets that appreciated 3.5% to 10%, and I believe 2025 is going to repeat that process," he says.
Many people can't afford current interest rates and housing inventory is low, but Garland says mortgage applications will go up if interest rates drop. "We have pent-up demand in the market right now with interest rates being in that 7% to 8% range pretty much all of 2024 and now 2025," he says. "Once those interest rates start to drop, we get anything in the in the fives this year? Forget about it. People are going to be running back in the streets trying to take advantage."