Layoffs in recent years often didn’t end after the first round. Drawing on publicly reported data from Layoffs.fyi, Zety’s latest Repeat Layoff Index tracked U.S.-based tech companies that announced job cuts between 2023 and 2025 and revealed that a significant share returned for additional rounds of layoffs, in many cases within months of their first reduction. What began as post-pandemic…
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If Hartford, Connecticut, were a movie character, it would be Keyser Söze from The Usual Suspects. The once-unassuming city, known as the insurance capital of the world, has, for many years, masked a darker alter ego, only recently revealed: America’s most cutthroat real estate market.
In all fairness, even veteran real estate investors likely never knew their hometown would become Zillow’s hottest housing market of 2026, prompting bidding wars with all-cash offers like it was 2021 and driving prices up by 70% over the last six years.
So how did Hartford go from mild to wild? It’s a plot twist transformation that serves as a good case study for small investors chasing the latest rental hot spot and knowing when to turn or risk getting burned.
Hartford’s win wasn’t merely clickbait. The combination of expected home price growth this year, based on last year’s numbers, which saw 66% of houses sell for over list price and sit on the market for only a week, combined with low inventory—still 63% below pre-pandemic levels—earmarked Hartford for an intense year of price hikes and bidding wars.
Zillow senior economist Orphe Divounguy said that in Hartford, “buyers must compete to elbow their way to the front of the line, which creates hot conditions that elevate a market to the top of the list.”
Zillow also noted that many of its top markets were in the Northeast and California, close to large job centers, but where new housing construction has been slow. According to The Wall Street Journal, the pandemic was a game-changer for Hartford, which sits halfway between New York and Boston—a two-and-a-half-hour drive to both. As prices started to increase, investors from surrounding big cities began flooding in, looking for flips or rentals.
“Right now, houses don’t last more than a day on the market if they’re priced correctly,” Kristen Duchene, a Connecticut real estate agent and broker, told the Journal.
The key for investors looking at cities like Hartford is to try to see what’s around the corner. Its proximity to densely packed urban centers means it has always had the potential to be a rental hot spot. However, its housing market was decimated after the 2008 financial crash, with job growth in dire shape and homebuyers able to negotiate prices lower at will.
“There was no competition,” investor Eben Busa, who bought his first home in the area in 2017, told the Journal. “I would come in and say, ‘I want your grill,’ or ‘I want this wall repainted,’ and then I would still come in with an underbid.”
Recovery hit Hartford’s leafy suburbs first, with stately older homes housing employees in the state’s main industries in insurance, healthcare, education, and aerospace. The older housing stock made it a haven for flippers. The lack of inventory meant that flippers who could find deals made tidy profits in record time when they listed their projects.
However, despite the increase in house prices, Hartford is still relatively affordable, with the average home in the city costing $189,744 and the average rent $1,529 as of January 2026, according to local newspaper The Bulletin, meaning that it is still possible to cash flow or at least break even.
The city’s low supply means those prices will surely increase. For now, with low prices and assuming the neighborhood is not treacherous, the numbers make sense.
That’s a big assumption, because just because a market is deemed to be “hot” doesn’t mean it’s a good investment, like many cities. Hartford has its good and bad areas.
Many investors fail to realize this as they rush in from pricey cities like New York and Boston to cash in on the hype around Hartford and its low prices. Last year, WalletHub ranked Hartford among the worst state capitals to live in, based on cost of living, affordability, education, economic well-being, and crime, among other factors.
Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst, said in the report:
“A state’s capital city is more than just the seat of its government—it’s also often the center of its economic activity. Some state capitals boast incredible job markets, high average salaries, world-class universities, and an abundance of attractions. Unfortunately, others have populations that are struggling financially, failing public education systems, and poor public health systems. States should aim to make their capital city a shining example of the best they have to offer.”
In Hartford’s defense, a slate of new development projects and housing will have a major impact on the city’s complexion, which is why, with a still surprisingly reasonably priced housing market, Hartford is attracting the kind of buyer interest it is.
That’s reflected in Realtor.com‘s projected 17.1% median price growth for Hartford in 2026, with the listing site’s economists citing “chronically tight inventory” as the driver. The pricier areas of Hartford are pushing buyers to look elsewhere in the city, where they can get more bang for their buck, and driving price growth outward.
“People are saying, ‘OK—I can either continue to search in West Hartford and go for a small home, or I can get a larger home [elsewhere],” Alexa Kebalo, Connecticut Realtors president and a broker in the West Hartford office of ENRG Realty, told CT Insider. “I think a lot of people are realizing that you can have a dream list…but then you have a ‘what can I actually afford list’—the real list, in that your finances are what your finances are.”
For investors looking to buy in similar “sleeper” markets like Hartford, recent data offers a few practical pointers.
First, the combination of low inventory and short days on market, highlighted by Zillow, means that financing and underwriting need to be in place before making any offers in Hartford. In this market, 2021 rules apply—no contingencies, over-asking-price offers, and all-cash buyers jump to the front of the line.
Secondly—of particular interest to buy-and-hold investors—rents are still rising year over year while the rest of the market cools, which augurs well for cash flow.
Finally, and this is a biggie: The limited concentration of older homes, especially in the city, means that single-family or small multifamily rentals are the prevalent type, favoring small landlords.
However, a large number of tenants (55%) are cost-burdened, and many of the city’s landlords were recently cited for violations of poor living standards. Much of the rental population is working-class and financially strapped, and the real estate is often in poor condition. This rental market is not easy to navigate if you want a stress-free life as a landlord.
Yes, the housing is relatively affordable and increasing in price, but you will need good property management, cash on the sidelines to handle repairs, and you will have to work for every penny of cash flow and equity. There is money to be made, but don’t believe the hype; it won’t come easy.
American Express has launched ‘Platinum Member Airfares‘. This offers reduced fares for personal and business Platinum cardholders across 30 airlines. From what I can tell this is just combining the ‘International Airline Program’ and ‘Recommended Flights’ programs.
Court allows White House ballroom construction to continue for now
Protests over the soaring cost of fuel spread disruption across Ireland on Saturday with many gas stations running dry as truck and tractor drivers staged a fifth day of blockades at the country’s sole fuel refinery and several depots.
Vehicles blocking traffic led to closures of the main highway around the capital, Dublin, as well as six other major roadways.
More than a third of the 1,500 service stations in the republic are out of fuel and that number is expected to grow dramatically if the roadblocks remain, Fuels for Ireland chief executive Kevin McPartlan said.
Irish police put all its officers on notice they could be called to duty over the weekend and the military was on standby to help remove the vehicles as the government was due to renew talks Saturday to resolve the dispute.
Frustration over the soaring cost of fuel led to the protests that began Tuesday and have continued to grow as word spread on social media.
Government officials, who had already introduced measures to ease the burden of price rises, have been baffled over the rationale behind the protests because the price spike is global and due to the conflict in the Middle East that has restricted oil exports.
Prime Minister Micheál Martin said Friday that the country was on the brink of turning tankers away during a global shortage and was in jeopardy of losing its oil supply.
“It is unconscionable, it’s illogical, it is difficult to comprehend,” Martin told the national broadcaster RTE.
Truckers, farmers, and taxi and bus operators are among those who have staged the blockages and called for caps in fuel prices or cuts to excise or carbon taxes.
The government approved a range of measures two weeks ago to cut fuel prices, including a temporary reduction in excise taxes on motor fuels, expansion of a rebate for truckers and bus operators that use diesel fuel, and extension of a program that helps low-income people with their heating costs.
But those reductions were quickly overtaken as international prices continued to rise.
Protests began with slow-moving convoys that restricted access to some of the busiest streets in Dublin and blocked fuel depots that supply half the country. Some protesters slept in their vehicles overnight, demanding that the government speak with them.
Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan said Thursday that outsiders were manipulating the demonstrators to advance their own agendas or “really want to damage our country.”
Mortgage rates have had one of their best two-week spells in a long time.
And they’ve done it during one of the most uncertain times in years, with a war raging in the Middle East.
Despite oil priced near $100 per barrel, the 30-year fixed remains priced near its lowest level in years.
Not quite as low as it was at the end of February, but not much higher either.
The big question is can rates hold here, or even improve, without slipping back toward the 7s again?
First, a quick summary. Mortgage rates were sub-6% at the end of February, their lowest point in roughly 3.5 years.
Then we got the unexpected strikes in Iran that took out the country’s leadership and led to a wide-scale conflict in the Middle East.
That led to spiking oil prices as the Strait of Hormuz shuttered to virtually all tanker traffic, pushing mortgage rates back up to around 6.625%.
It was a very fast and steep move higher basically throughout the month of March.
However, as talks of a ceasefire surfaced, mortgage rates began to ease and have since fallen about 0.25% in the past two weeks.
Mortgage rates don’t change during the weekend, but what takes place this weekend could have a big impact on which way rates go next week and beyond.
Pakistan facilitated a crucial two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran earlier this week, and will be hosting talks on Saturday.
Hence why this weekend will matter so much to mortgage rates.
If those talks go well, mortgage rates could extend their rally next week, potentially falling to 6.25% or even lower.
If those talks don’t go well, or if something else comes up during the weekend, such as another attack or escalation, or new threat, mortgage rates may break their winning streak.
It’s all very tenuous as both sides seem to want a lot of concessions to end this thing.
Both apparently want an exit-ramp, but only on their terms. And both will want to feel like they “won” in order to move on.
Not to be pessimistic, but relations between these countries have always been tumultuous.
And if history is any guide, things could get worse before they get better.
I asked Grok what the chances of an escalation were and it said about 40-60% at this juncture.
It also noted that during past “serious negotiations or ceasefires between Iran and the U.S./Israel over the past 15+ years, low-level or proxy incidents have continued or even spiked.”
So to think all will be hunky-dory seems a bit too optimistic, as much as we all want peace and a lasting solution.
Even if things do go well at the meeting, it’s going to take a long time to sort everything out and get back on track.
Chances are the disruptions to date will result in increased inflation and elevated gas prices for months to come.
Like mortgage rates, gas prices are quick to rise and slow to fall. Funny how that works isn’t it?
Likewise, don’t expect mortgage rates to keep falling, even if we get more good news.
Any little thing could set them off again and result in a re-test of recent levels or even higher.
I still believe we see mortgage rates climb back toward 6.75% or possibly above that in coming months.
Partially because historically mortgage rates are highest in the months of May and June.
And also because this is a very delicate situation that doesn’t seem like it’ll be resolved quickly.
There’s a pattern I’ve noticed in my own life and in so many physicians I talk to.
It’s late. You finally get a quiet moment and open your inbox: a new real estate opportunity, a different investment, or a business idea from a friend.
You skim it, feel a mix of excitement and anxiety, and tell yourself you’ll look at it later.
You never do. Or you half-look at it, get interrupted, and move on. Weeks go by. More opportunities show up. The pile in your head gets bigger. Your clarity doesn’t.
Most of us don’t lack information. We don’t lack ideas either. What we lack is a way to turn those ideas into real decisions we can stand behind.
In medicine, you don’t really get to say “I’ll decide later.” Even when you order more tests or watch and wait, there’s a clear plan and a time frame.
With money and career decisions, “I’ll decide later” often means “I’ll stop thinking about this until it pops up again.” That’s where drift sneaks in.
You tell yourself you’re being prudent, but time passes, and it’s easy to get stuck until you learn how to overcome the fear of making a wrong move.
Opportunities come and go. You stay overexposed to one income stream longer than you meant to. In the background, there’s a quiet sense of, “I should be further along than this.”
For a long time, that was me.
I collected podcasts, webinars, spreadsheets, and conference notes. I had a deal room full of syndication decks I’d half-read and a browser with 30 open tabs on cap rates. I convinced myself that one more article, one more webinar, one more data point would make the next move obvious.
I had more information than I knew what to do with, and very few actual decisions to show for it.
Eventually, I realized the problem wasn’t a lack of information or ideas. It was that I didn’t have a way to turn any of it into choices I could stand behind.
On paper, physicians should be great at this.
We’re trained to handle complexity, weigh risk, and act under pressure. But money decisions trigger a different part of the brain.
There’s no residency for “physician real estate investor” or “physician entrepreneur.” Most of us didn’t grow up around people buying buildings or building businesses. And in our day jobs, the cost of a mistake feels enormous, so we bring that perfectionism into our finances, making it harder to rewire your money habits for success.
Layer on a noisy environment with rate changes, headlines, and friends sharing wins and losses, and almost any decision can start to feel like either a landmine or a lottery ticket.
So we research. We open tabs. We ask around in online groups and tell ourselves we’re “not quite ready.”
And deep down, we still don’t fully trust ourselves to choose.
The most helpful shift for me was noticing how experienced investors and entrepreneurs think.
They aren’t calm because they can predict the future. They’re calm because they ask better questions.
Instead of “Is this a good deal?” they’re asking things like:
What problem is this investment or business actually solving for me? Cash flow now? Long-term equity? Tax benefits? Skill-building?
What is the realistic downside, and can I live with it?
How much of my time, attention, and energy does this require in this season of life?
When you start from those questions, a lot of noise falls away.
Plenty of “interesting” opportunities become easy nos. A few become clearer maybes. And one or two start to look like real yeses.
That’s what I mean by making the call. Not a perfect decision, but an aligned and intentional one.
Here’s the hard part: it’s extremely difficult to develop these filters alone on your couch at midnight.
When you’re isolated, your brain loves extremes. “Everything is unsafe. I should just stay in cash.” Or, “Everyone else is investing. I’m missing out. I should jump in now.”
What helped me the most was getting around people who were already doing what I wanted to do. Physicians who had bought rentals, invested in syndications and funds, launched businesses, and learned from mistakes along the way.
Hearing how they evaluated deals, structured partnerships, protected their downside, and balanced family life gave me something I couldn’t get from a spreadsheet: context.
I could see what being cautious looked like in practice, what “too aggressive” looked like, and what a healthy, sustainable path looked like for someone with a life similar to mine.
That kind of calibration is almost impossible to do in a vacuum.
I think about my friend Larry a lot when this topic comes up.
Larry came to the very first PIMDCON. He was a high-income physician, doing well by every traditional measure, but he knew almost nothing about real estate investing. He just knew he wanted more time. More time with his family, more freedom to travel and go on adventures, more of a life that wasn’t dictated by a call schedule.
He didn’t leave that first event with a deal. He left with something more important: he saw what was possible. He met physicians who were actually doing it. Not theoretical. Real people, real portfolios, real stories about how they got there.
From that point, he decided to dive into real estate. Within a few short years, he had built up a portfolio that replaced his clinical income.
I’m not saying those results are guaranteed. Larry worked incredibly hard, made smart decisions, and took real risk. But being in that room, hearing those stories, meeting people who were a few steps ahead of him, that’s what made the difference between “someday I’ll figure this out” and actually starting.
And Larry’s story isn’t unique. I’ve watched it happen again and again. Someone walks into PIMDCON not sure where to begin. They sit next to someone at lunch who’s two years ahead of them. They hear a speaker break down a deal structure that finally clicks. They leave with three clear priorities instead of 30 open tabs.
The talks matter, but honestly, it’s the hallway conversations and the dinner tables that tend to change people’s trajectory. That’s why we do PIMDCON every year, focusing on the core philosophy of living by design rather than by default. This September 24 through 26 in Dallas, we’re doing it again. If you’ve been circling the idea of attending, this might be the room that helps you stop circling and start choosing.
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Whether or not PIMDCON is on your radar, I’d invite you to borrow one question I ask myself when a new idea, deal, or business possibility shows up:
“Is this helping me make better decisions, or just giving me more to think about?”
If the answer is “more to think about,” I either let it go or park it for later.
If the answer is “better decisions,” I lean in. That might mean learning a specific skill, talking to someone who’s already done it, or getting into a room where my thinking gets sharpened.
Whichever path you choose, my hope is the same: less second-guessing, fewer ‘I’ll decide later’ moments, and more choices you can stand behind in your pursuit of true financial freedom.
PIMDCON 2026 is September 24-26. I’d love to see you there.
Learn more and grab your spot here → JOIN PIMDCON!
Were these helpful in any way? Make sure to sign up for the newsletter and join the Passive Income Docs Facebook Group for more physician-tailored content.
Peter Kim, MD is the founder of Passive Income MD, the creator of Passive Real Estate Academy, and offers weekly education through his Monday podcast, the Passive Income MD Podcast. Join our community at the Passive Income Doc Facebook Group.
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This week, Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire Universal Music Group in a deal worth approximately $64 billion — with Ackman telling investors he expects “overwhelming shareholder support”, while JP Morgan analysts expressed skepticism that key stakeholder Bolloré would back the transaction.
Meanwhile, Udio signed a licensing agreement with Kobalt, marking the AI music platform’s fourth major deal since settling copyright litigation with UMG in October 2025 — and its latest step in its transformation from courtroom defendant to licensed service provider.
Elsewhere, Wireless Festival was canceled after the UK government blocked headliner Ye (Kanye West) from entering Britain, ruling that his presence would not be conducive to the public good — prompting promoter Festival Republic to confirm that refunds will be issued to all ticket holders.
Also in the past seven days: UMG and Believe settled the copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the Paris-headquartered company and its distribution platform TuneCore in late 2024, with all claims dismissed with prejudice.
Here are some of the biggest headlines from the past week…
Bill Ackman told investors on Tuesday (April 7) that he expects “overwhelming shareholder support” for Pershing Square’s $64 billion takeover proposal for Universal Music Group.
The deal — a cash-and-shares offer — would see UMG shareholders receive EUR €9.4 billion in cash, plus 0.77 shares of a newly created company for each share held.
Ackman said that his first call before launching the bid was to the Bolloré Group, UMG’s largest single shareholder, and that the initial response was encouraging.
However, not everyone shares Ackman’s confidence. In a research note circulated on Tuesday, JP Morgan analyst Daniel Kerven said he would “be surprised” if Bolloré supported the deal, arguing there is nothing in Pershing’s proposal that UMG could not do itself with the backing of its major shareholders and board… (MBW)
Udio has signed a licensing agreement with independent music publisher Kobalt, adding to a growing roster of industry partners as the AI platform continues its transformation from copyright defendant to licensed service provider.
The deal, announced on Thursday (April 9), will see Udio’s forthcoming subscription platform trained on authorized and licensed music from Kobalt’s catalog, with participating creators credited and paid for remixes, covers, and new songs made using their voices and compositions.
The agreement marks Udio’s fourth significant licensing deal since it settled copyright infringement litigation with UMG in October 2025. That settlement was followed by a similar agreement with Warner Music Group in November 2025, and a licensing deal with Merlin in January 2026… (MBW)
Secretly Distribution has acquired Babel Ops, the technology company behind music data and analytics platform Entertainment Intelligence (Ei).
The deal, announced on Wednesday (April 8), brings both companies under the ownership of the independent distributor, which says Babel Ops will continue to serve its existing client base of independent labels and music businesses.
Secretly Distribution CEO Darius Van Arman framed the acquisition in the context of growing consolidation in major label-land, pointing to the majors’ recent acquisitions of digital supply chain companies like FUGA and Revelator, as well as Bill Ackman’s $64 billion bid for UMG… (MBW)
London’s Wireless Festival has been canceled after the UK government denied headliner Ye (Kanye West) permission to enter the country, with the Home Office ruling that his presence would not be conducive to the public good.
The move followed a wave of political condemnation over the announcement that West had been booked as the sole headliner for all three nights of the festival, scheduled for Finsbury Park from July 10-12.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the booking “deeply concerning” in view of West’s previous antisemitic remarks, while at least three sponsors — including headline partner Pepsi, drinks giant Diageo, and Rockstar Energy — had withdrawn from the festival… (MBW)
Universal Music Group and Believe have settled the copyright infringement lawsuit filed against the Paris-headquartered music company and its distribution platform TuneCore in late 2024.
UMG had filed a complaint against Believe and TuneCore on November 4, 2024, seeking damages of at least $500 million. At the heart of the case was a sweeping allegation that Believe had built its business through what UMG described as “industrial-scale copyright infringement,” focusing heavily on the distribution of so-called “manipulated” audio — sped-up or remixed versions of copyrighted recordings uploaded to streaming platforms… (MBW)
Partner message: MBW’s Weekly Round-up is supported by BMI, the global leader in performing rights management, dedicated to supporting songwriters, composers and publishers and championing the value of music. Find out more about BMI here. Music Business Worldwide
