If you lead a bank today, you are almost certainly hearing some version of the same message from every direction: “We need an AI strategy.” “Our competitors are already using LLMs.” “We can automate entire functions with gen AI.” Boards are asking about it. Regulators are asking about it. Vendors are promising it. And inside your own shop, ambitious […]
If you’re one of the 71 million Americans receiving Social Security, you’re about to get a raise. In October, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2026. For the average retired worker, this translates to an extra $56 per month. On the surface, that sounds like a win. But for thousands of middle-income seniors, that modest $50-a-month…
For students pursuing law, medicine, dentistry, and other professional degrees, federal student loan borrowing is about to change in ways that could reshape how those programs are financed.
Beginning July 1, 2026, professional students will no longer be able to use Grad PLUS loans, which historically allowed borrowing up to the full cost of attendance. Instead, federal borrowing for professional students will be limited to Direct Loans with firm annual and lifetime caps. The shift is now law, following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
While professional students will still have access to federal loans, the new limits introduce borrowing ceilings that many programs already exceed – sometimes by a wide margin.
Under the new law, professional students will face the following federal loan limits:
These limits apply only to graduate-level borrowing and do not include any federal loans taken out during undergraduate study.
Professional programs typically include law (JD), medicine (MD, DO), dentistry (DDS, DMD), veterinary medicine, and certain health professions. These programs are treated separately from master’s and doctoral programs, which face lower borrowing limits.
You can see the full breakdown of what’s considered graduate vs. professional degrees here.
The change replaces the previous system, under which professional students could borrow unlimited amounts through Grad PLUS loans as long as their school certified the cost.
The law includes a transition provision for current professional students.
Borrowers who have at least one Grad PLUS loan before June 30, 2026, may continue borrowing under the Grad PLUS system. That provision lasts until the borrower completes their current program or for three additional academic years, whichever comes first.
For students already enrolled in multi-year professional programs, the grandfathering clause may cover most or all remaining costs. For others, especially those early in longer programs, the three-year limit could still require adjustments before graduation.
Students who do not borrow Grad PLUS before the cutoff date will not qualify, even if they are already enrolled.
For students planning to enroll after 2026, understanding the full cost of a professional degree will matter more than ever.
Comparing tuition, expected borrowing needs, bar or licensing outcomes, and post-graduation earnings may play a larger role in deciding where (and whether) to enroll. It’s highly likely that many professional students will need to supplement their federal borrowing with private student loans for graduate school.
For current students, confirming whether they qualify for the Grad PLUS grandfathering provision could affect borrowing options for the remainder of their program.
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While America’s labor market may not be collapsing, Moody’s Analytics has highlighted that it is inching steadily closer towards a key recession indicator, with analysts now placing the probability of an economic contraction at around 40%.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the unemployment rate for November edged up to 4.6%, continuing the creep higher that analysts have been nervously monitoring throughout the year. The BLS noted a meagre 64,000 roles were created last month, showing little net change from April this year.
While 4.6% is not a dire figure—around 4% is seen as a reasonable rate of unemployment in a relatively stable economy—it is markedly higher than last November, when it was 4.2%. But it’s not necessarily the rate of unemployment that is making economists nervous. Rather, it’s the broader trend of decline and what this demonstrates about the trajectory of the economy.
In its most recent podcast episode of ‘Inside Economics’, Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi and , senior director of economic research Dante DeAntonio observed that America is close to triggering the Sahm Rule.
The Sahm Rule, invented by former Fed economist Claudia Sahm, is a recession signal that is activated when the three-month moving average of the national unemployment rate rises by 0.5 percentage points or more, relative to the minimum of the three-month averages from the previous 12 months. In November, it stood at 0.43.
“We didn’t quite trigger it this month but we’re sort of on the precipice,” DeAntonio said. “If it stays at 4.6% next month we’ll trigger the Sahm Rule again. It’ll be exactly at the threshold just like we were in the middle of 2024.”
While the Sahm Rule is fairly accurate, the U.S. economy did not in fact fall into recession last year—thanks in part to the Fed engineering a “soft landing” via interest rate cuts. So will the same rule apply now and into 2026?
Cris deRitis, deputy chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said he’d place a 40% likelihood on a recession occurring next year, explaining: “The trends are not our friends here.” His call is somewhat elevated from the consensus of Wall Street, which places the odds at 30 to 35%.
DeAntonio and Zandi agreed with their colleague, with the latter saying: “The thing that makes me nervous and adds to my level of angst … [is] one reason why job growth is weaker is less labor supply, because of the immigration policy. That gets you to the 50k to 75k breakeven monthly job number. That by itself, if nothing else was going on, is already pretty weak, and that goes to lack of bodies and lack of people to work.” The breakeven number is the monthly jobs growth figure needed to keep the unemployment rate steady.
If the unemployment level is relatively stable because of lack of supply, that means demand from employers is incredibly weak, Zandi said: “We could trace it back to the tariffs, we can trace it back to some of the other deglobalization efforts that the administration has engaged in, including immigration policy because immigrants are consumers … but the other factor is AI.”
So far the impact from AI has been only “modest” the Moody’s economist reasoned, perhaps impacting younger market entrants as opposed to the wider market. But what happens when the productivity gains from AI really become clear?
“That’s at least the betting in the stock markets, stock investors are buying AI stocks thinking that we’re going to see big adoption rates by businesses, that it’s gonna raise productivity growth, it’s gonna raise profitability … if they’re half right or even a quarter right then we’re in a world of outright job decline, all else being equal.”
The holiday season is jam-packed with parties, shopping, cooking, gift-giving, and obligations. With all this going on, you might assume that the festive season is the worst time to buy or sell real estate.
However, you may be surprised to learn that the holiday season is actually great for selling your home. Potential buyers are naturally attracted and committed to the process during this time of year. In an especially tight housing market, homebuyers will often kick their home shopping into high gear and take advantage of the reduced competition among other buyers.
Once you’ve decided to sell, you may want to do some reorganizing, cleaning, and home staging to present your place in its very best light. Below are some holiday home staging tips to give your home a festive feel this holiday season.
Your realtor should be your first stop when staging your home, especially with holiday decor involved. Removing clutter and personal effects is a start, but you also want to consider your furnishings and artwork.
Remove extra furniture to storage (don’t keep it in your garage—buyers will see it there and wonder why it’s not inside the house). And maintain clear sight lines and pathways to add an open, airy feeling to your holiday home.
Having white lights, Christmas tree decorations, or a menorah on display is fine, but try not to let holiday home decor dominate the entire room. Small, tasteful decorations sprinkled throughout the house give the homebuyer a taste of the holiday spirit and let them envision what they could do with the space during the holiday season.
Nowadays, many sellers are also interested in virtual showings, which means virtual staging. With that in mind, you need to think about how your holiday decor will be photographed and presented on a virtual video walk-through. What can draw attention in a positive way in person may draw attention in a negative way online, particularly when your rooms are condensed to the size of a smartphone screen.
Accentuating your home with subtle touches that create a holiday atmosphere works wonders.
Add a bowl of cinnamon-scented pine cones in the center of your dining room table. Hang a wreath over the fireplace in the living room or on the front door for a sense of warmth. Christmas decorations are taken to the next level when they involve more than one sense, so bring smell into your home decor by sprinkling in fresh evergreens when possible.
Be sure your holiday decor complements your current home. Christmas decorations should make the rooms feel festive but never eccentric.
One way to complement your current home decor is to work within the existing color scheme. If your living room is painted a beautiful blue, perhaps skip the red garland and go with a more “winter wonderland” feel with silver bells and snowflakes.
If your dining room is neutral-colored, going with some cranberry garland or earth-toned trimmings will work nicely. Your Christmas decorations don’t have to be the same color as the room, but they should pair nicely with the already existing color scheme.
Keep away from large blow-up displays or lights that pulse to the beat of “Jingle Bells.” Stick with simple colored or white holiday lights and a small display on your porch. This brings the curb appeal your buyers are looking for as they browse listings and drive around looking at homes during the holidays. Plus, it’s the first thing they’ll see.
Remember, you want to make a great first impression, whether you’re selling your home during the winter months or at any time of year.
Selling during the holidays can be one of the smartest moves you make all year, especially with the right strategy. Programs like APM’s Seller PreLock can help your listing stand out by offering buyers something they truly value: a lower, locked-in interest rate before they even make an offer.
It’s a simple way to make your home more appealing without lowering your price. Connect with your local APM Loan Advisor to learn how the Seller PreLock program can help you sell faster and with confidence this holiday season. Find your local APM Loan Advisor today.
Beginning in spring next year, Alaska Airlines will fly three additional routes from Anchorage to Boise, Boston and Spokane, and four additional routes from Portland to Bellingham, Everett/Paine Field and Pasco in Washington state, and Jackson Hole in Wyoming. Tickets for the newly added routes are available for purchase now at alaskaair.com.
Flights between Anchorage and Boise, Boston and Spokane begin in mid-June for service through mid-August – just in time for summertime adventures in the Land of the Midnight Sun, when the days are long and the air is warm.
New flights begin as early as mid-March with all-new daily, year-round service between Portland and Bellingham, Washington. In mid-June, Alaska will start flying twice daily between Portland and Pasco, Washington. The flights will be offered year-round. They will resume daily, year-round flights on June 10 between Portland and Everett, Washington, home of Paine Field Airport – the Seattle region’s second airport. For a long summer stretch, Alaska will fly nonstop between Portland and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, twice a week starting June 10.
|
City Pair |
Start Date |
End Date |
Frequency |
Aircraft |
|
Anchorage – Boise, ID |
June 10, 2026 |
Aug. 15, 2026 |
Wed/Sat |
737 |
|
Anchorage – Boston, MA |
June 13, 2026 |
Aug. 15, 2026 |
Saturday |
737 |
|
Anchorage – Spokane, WA |
June 10, 2026 |
Aug. 15, 2026 |
Wed/Sat |
E175 |
|
Portland – Bellingham, WA |
March 18, 2026 |
Year-round |
Daily |
E175 |
|
Portland – Everett, WA |
June 10, 2026 |
Year-round |
Daily |
E175 |
|
Portland – Jackson Hole, WY |
June 10, 2026 |
Sept. 30, 2026 |
Wed/Sat |
E175 |
|
Portland – Pasco, WA |
June 10, 2026 |
Year-round |
2x Daily |
E175 |
Thread Bank has raised $30.5 million in a funding round to support the digital bank’s growth. “This additional funding will enable Thread to continue to scale, grow new and existing partnerships, and continue to be a leader in the embedded banking market,” Thread Chief Executive Chris Black told FinAi News. “Underpinning each of these objectives is a requirement for innovation, efficiency and transparency.” “Thread’s usage of AI — and that of the […]
Hiring data for October and November show the nation’s labor market continues to sputter, raising concerns that the employment outlook may be weaker than it seems.
This article is presented by NREIG.
Most real estate investors insure their properties based on what they think the home is worth. After all, if the market says your rental is worth $320,000, shouldn’t your insurance policy match that number?
Unfortunately, market value and rebuild value have almost nothing to do with each other. One reflects what a buyer might pay. The other reflects what it would cost to reconstruct your property after a total loss. When those numbers don’t match your insurance coverage—and they usually don’t—you’re either exposed to major out-of-pocket costs or wasting money on bloated premiums.
This misunderstanding is so widespread that investor-focused insurance partners like NREIG see it constantly when reviewing new clients’ portfolios. Most investors are underinsured because no one ever explained how these values actually work.
Here’s a clear breakdown of why market value and rebuild value differ, what insurers really look at when setting your coverage amount, and how to make sure your rental is properly protected. The goal is to help you avoid one of the most expensive, preventable mistakes investors make.
When investors talk about what a property is “worth,” they’re almost always referring to market value. It’s the number that shows up on Zillow, in your appraisal report, or in neighborhood comps. Market value only tells you what a buyer is willing to pay, not what it would cost to rebuild the structure.
Market value fluctuates constantly because it’s tied to dynamic, often emotional forces. A few of the biggest drivers include:
This is another common point of confusion:
These numbers rarely match each other, and none of them determine the correct insurance coverage amount.
In most cases, demand for the neighborhood, scarcity of homes, or land appreciation push the market value higher than the cost of construction. But in some areas, especially where labor or material costs are high, the opposite can happen.
Either way, market value isn’t the number you insure.
If market value is about what a buyer will pay, rebuild value is about what a contractor will charge. And those numbers often live in completely different universes.
Rebuild value represents the full cost to reconstruct your property from the ground up after a total loss, including labor, materials, debris removal, and compliance with today’s building codes.
Reconstruction isn’t as simple as multiplying your square footage by a quick estimate. Carriers factor in highly specific, hyperlocal variables, including:
Rebuild value doesn’t include land, dirt, or the lot itself. None of this is factored into rebuild value, because land doesn’t get rebuilt.
This is why insuring a property for its market value almost always leads to mismatched coverage.
While market value is usually higher, certain markets flip the script, especially in:
In these cases, a property might sell for $180,000 but cost $250,000 to rebuild, leaving massively underinsured investors shocked after a total loss.
When insurers determine how much coverage your rental property needs, they ask: “If this home burned to the ground tomorrow, what would it cost us to rebuild it?”
That is why carriers base coverage on rebuild value, not market value. Your policy is designed to restore the physical structure, not reimburse you for the neighborhood, land, or the market premiums buyers are willing to pay.
When your insured value doesn’t match the true rebuild cost, you face two major problems:
1. Underinsuring: If your coverage is too low, you’re responsible for the difference during a total loss. Investors are often stunned when a $50,000 gap becomes their problem—not the carrier’s.
2. Overinsuring: If you insure for too much, you’re paying higher premiums for coverage you can never use. Remember, insurance will not typically pay more than the rebuild cost.
Insurers use reconstruction cost estimators that factor in:
This data is updated frequently, especially in volatile material markets.
When a major loss hits, the policy amount becomes the limit that determines how quickly and completely your property can be rebuilt. If the coverage is correct, your carrier handles the reconstruction without major financial strain on you. If it’s wrong, you’re writing large checks.
Understanding market value versus rebuild value is the first step. The second, and the one most investors overlook, is making sure your insurance coverage stays accurate over time.
Properties change, materials age, renovations add value, and labor and material costs shift. That means your policy needs regular attention if you want it to perform the way you expect during a claim.
Here are the essential practices every investor should build into their annual rhythm.
Insurance isn’t a “set it and forget it” expense. A quick annual review helps ensure:
A 15-minute check-in each year can prevent massive coverage gaps.
Upgrades like a new roof, updated plumbing, finishing a basement, or converting a garage directly affect rebuild value. If you don’t report them:
Insurers need accurate details to calculate accurate coverage.
Rebuild calculations are only as good as the data behind them. Common investor mistakes include:
A quick review of your declarations page can help ensure everything matches reality.
These policy features automatically increase your coverage annually to keep pace with rising construction costs, especially valuable in times of volatile material pricing.
Even with these features, though, it’s important to verify the base rebuild calculation is correct.
Most investors juggle acquisitions, turnovers, leasing, maintenance, bookkeeping, and financing. Insurance renewals feel like just another task—until a claim happens. Being proactive now is far easier (and much cheaper) than trying to fix coverage gaps after a loss.
A reality most investors learn too late is that many insurance policies are built on incomplete or outdated property details. That’s where gaps appear, which are exactly what cause denied claims, delayed rebuilds, and large out-of-pocket expenses.
Investor portfolios are especially vulnerable because properties vary widely in age, construction type, condition, and renovation history. Most traditional insurers aren’t built to track these nuances, and they certainly aren’t designed to manage rapid changes across multiple rentals.
When investors come to NREIG for a policy review, the same issues consistently show up:
Traditional insurers typically aren’t equipped to catch these details proactively—but investor-focused insurers are. NREIG works exclusively with real estate investors, which means their entire process is designed to eliminate the coverage gaps that cause problems for landlords.
Here’s what makes the difference:
Most investors don’t have the time (or desire) to micromanage insurance details. But without accurate rebuild values and investor-specific protections, your portfolio is exposed. NREIG fills that gap by making sure your coverage reflects reality, and stays that way as your properties evolve.
If there’s one takeaway here, it’s that your insurance policy is only as good as the rebuild value behind it. If that number is wrong, everything built on top of it—your premiums, coverage limits, claim expectations—falls apart.
Too many investors only discover the gap after a fire, storm, or major loss. By then, the missing tens of thousands come directly out of their pocket.
You don’t have to take that risk. NREIG specializes in helping real estate investors verify rebuild values, identify coverage gaps, and align policies with the way rental properties actually operate. Whether you own a single-family rental or a multistate portfolio, their team can help you:
Your next step is simple: Get a quick coverage review from NREIG. It’s fast, investor-friendly, and often uncovers issues that would otherwise stay hidden until a claim.
You’ve worked too hard to build your portfolio to let an avoidable insurance mistake jeopardize it. Protect your investments with coverage that’s aligned to real-world rebuild costs, not guesswork.
