Money Matters with Greg
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Money Matters with Greg
Episode 174: Real Estate Reality Check With Matt Evans
Housing decisions aren’t made on interest rates alone. Greg invited Valparaiso broker-owner Matt Evans to break down the real levers behind today’s market: monthly costs that hide in plain sight, the changing shape of local supply, and the life events that won’t wait for a perfect APR. From the practical “date the rate, marry the home” mindset to the math behind taxes, HOAs, and insurance, we map the budget items that determine whether a home truly fits.
We explore why new construction has become pricier—due to land, labor, and materials—and how local efforts are expanding the availability of attainable housing to rebuild equity for first-time buyers. Matt shares where inventory is tight, why luxury lots matter to a balanced ecosystem, and how updates to zoning and comprehensive plans guide future growth. We also look at the powerful pull from Illinois: better South Shore Rail service, transit-oriented development, and the Valpo Dash keep Chicago within reach while preserving Northwest Indiana’s pace and value.
For investors, we compare hands-on strategies with hands-off options. REITs offer diversified exposure and potential dividends, while local rentals benefit from sound structures such as LLCs. Flipping hasn’t vanished, but slimmer spreads and higher rehab costs mean only true value-add projects pencil out—cosmetic flips are rarely enough. Along the way, we underline the costs that most often surprise buyers and second-home owners, including rising insurance premiums and HOA assessments that can double or triple over time.
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Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC.
The opinions voiced in this podcast are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. To determine which strategies or investments may suit you, consult the appropriate qualified professional before deciding.
Welcome to Money Matters with Greg, where we dive into the money conversations shaping your life. From investments to estate planning, insurance to taxes, we cover it all with a fresh perspective. Join Greg and his guests each week to get inspired and take control of your financial future. Let's get started. Securities and investment advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor, member Pinrad IPC.
SPEAKER_01:It's a wealth management firm, independent wealth management firm here locally in Valparaiso, Indiana, and then helping clients. We're in 24 states now, so we're all over the nation, have a new office in Tampa. And we talk money on this show. This is episode 174, where we can talk about money, help you uh add value to your life, maybe save you some time, which is uh obviously very valuable to you, save you some money along the way. And um, we talk different topics on this show. We've gone everywhere from mortgage brokers to estate planning attorneys, you name it. But today we get to talk about real estate um with our good friend Matt Evans, who's local here in Valparaiso, Indiana. He's uh um very involved in the community and does a great job. He's owner and broker of REMAX uh real estate here uh locally. And uh just want to talk with Matt about some things in the real estate world that might be able to help you and uh kind of go through some questions, and then we're gonna give you a chance to be able to contact Matt directly to um so if you have any questions about what we talk about today, uh how to reach out and whatnot. You can find us on at Feral Wealth everywhere on all socials, YouTube channel you name it. Uh and then you can find this on a podcast anywhere you pod, uh Apple Spotify, as well as our YouTube channel uh down the line. So uh with no further ado, welcome Matt Evans.
SPEAKER_02:Hey Greg, thanks for having me on again. I really appreciate it. I don't know what other episode I was on, but I think it might have been like 14 or something.
SPEAKER_01:It was pretty early. It was pretty early. We're glad to have you back, man. Great to be there. Um as you know, as I mentioned, uh you're very involved in community. By the way, congratulations on being uh named for the chamber.
SPEAKER_02:Uh you're what now uh chair or president or chair, just about ready to um to jump off that position as we end 2025, but it's been a pleasure to be the board chair of the Belpo Chamber this year.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, very cool. Good for you, and thanks for your service and all of that for sure. Um just simple questions, really, to start. Uh, want to talk about mortgage rates initially. I know they've come down uh considerably. I know the you know 30-year, 15-year-old both have come in um quite a lot. Are you seeing, I mean, we're seeing it 6.19 on the 30 year, 5.44 as of December 4th, 2025. Both of those have come in probably about 50 basis points or a half a percent or a little bit more from the beginning of the year. What are you seeing as far as mortgage rates out there, Matt? This uh is it helping, is it helping the business or is it hindering uh what are you kind of seeing on the mortgage front?
SPEAKER_02:We've kind of just seen kind of a sideways slide, slight ups and downs here or there. And it was funny, but about not funny, I guess, for us real estate agents, but about a month and a half ago, we actually saw the you know rate lowered by the Fed, and the next day the rate went up in mortgages. So they don't necessarily coincide, and I think it's one of the biggest maybe fallacies in the national media. However, um, sometimes our rates uh actually anticipate the Fed change. So um, as of last week, when I'm looking at a local bank's rate sheet, I see anywhere from a 15-year at 5.875 up to a 30-year fix at about 6.25. And it seems like we've kind of been stuck there for a while. Yeah, so that hasn't necessarily spurred the market, but boy, anytime we see a small drop in these rates, people react and they buy and they sell. Because quite honestly, interest rates are keeping sellers from selling right now, too, that could slide into other products.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, really? Well, that makes sense. If you know, I can't uh sell my place at a certain rate because I'm gonna have to go out and get another rate somewhere else. That's right. And I might just yeah, and I might just have a lower rate right now, you know. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:So a lot of times in real estate, uh, one of the terms that people say is, you know, date the rate and and marry the home, right? And then that means that you're basically, you know, you you need to get the home that you like to regardless of the rate is, uh, to suit your lifestyle at the time, right? Whether it's upsize, downsize, family growth, uh, family shrinking, uh, change of job, whatever it is, get the home you like and need, and then go ahead and transition into uh a lower rate loan product through refinance someday, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah, this is a great point. Get in there, get the get the home that you want.
SPEAKER_02:Uh because you get in and you get the yeah, you get the home you want. And I don't know if you remember back in the early 2000s, uh, I can remember personally refinancing my home about three times, you know, because rates kept sliding. And I think we were my wife and I, Colleen, were in that home for about six, seven years. And uh when it went down, we took advantage of that and refinanced. So if we do see rates go down into the fives, which I'd love to see a five in front of that number for all these products, sure. I think the market would react so strongly. I don't think it needs to get down into threes for that to happen. No, it's rates again, right?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, and I think we're in agreement. We don't want it to go to three either, because then there's an issue. Um, you know, I mean, this is but the the new normal is fives and sixes. Um, you know, that's just kind of be the future. Get used to it, is what it is. It's not that bad because I mean, I remember back in the 70s and the 80s, it was uh you know, mortgage rate was 21%, and you were happy to have it. Right, right. So what are you seeing?
SPEAKER_02:Uh, you know, the more seasoned folks that have owned homes.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah, absolutely. Well, uh, CD rate was 13%, you know.
SPEAKER_02:So of course homes back then were$125,000 or 80 grand. So it's a difference.
SPEAKER_01:Very, very true. What are you seeing as far as uh the environment right now? Talk to us a little bit about the maybe the macro, micro level of what's going on out there.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I think nationally, uh one of the biggest discussion points in real estate, and I'll start on the residential side, is that uh attainable housing is being talked about a lot. So people are finding that you know the price of housing has gone up, uh, the price of construction has gone up, the price of developed lots has gone up. And for new homes that are being developed, the majority in Porter County, uh northwest Indiana, we see fall in the range of probably 350 and up. Now we do see a field, a few builders doing attached single family homes uh in in the lower threes. But for usually a single family, detached home now, we start at like 350. Wow. Um and uh, you know, that's not that's not attainable for a lot of people. People starting out, um, you know, young couple, a single person looking to buy a home. Some of them need uh a little lower home payment than that. So I think one of the biggest things we're seeing here locally in Valparaiso is some development in that regard. Um, there are there are new organizations out. Uh, I'm involved in one of them called Paradise Community Homes. And we're actually working with local builders to bring product uh at or below market price and actually deliver um some home equity. And what we're trying to do, Greg, is to to to build uh generational wealth again in some of these families that otherwise wouldn't be able to do it. They'd be runners for another 10 years, maybe, right? So we're trying to make a difference in that. And that's not a Valpo or a Northwest Indiana problem, that's a national problem. No. Uh on the other end of things, we're seeing the need for some some luxury, believe it or not, some luxury lots. Yeah, we're starting to run out of some development space in that. And we're actually, I know the city's getting ready to kind of take a look at the lot stock for builders and see if that's the case. But we believe in hearing from some folks that we are a little bit short on luxury uh house lots. So, you know, Valparaiso is a it has varying, you know, price points of housing, and we want to see continue to have supply in that. Um, as far as resale, I would say that we're kind of in a softer buyer market environment right now, part of that seasonal, right? Which full-on winter outside right now. Right. Um, and part of it is probably rate driven, and part of it is kind of national news driven, with you know, kind of the turbulence we've seen over the last several months with tariffs and other things. So people always put a pause on the big expenditures when that happens. But um, but we're we're seeing us stay really strong in this area. We're still selling homes. We we we're putting deals together throughout December here on homes. On the commercial side, if I could transition into that for just a minute.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Um, we aren't seeing probably as many businesses open right now due to the climates we've seen. Uh, there's not quite as much demand for commercial space either on the for sale or the for lease side. But we are still seeing a lot of people look to open here that have been doing business in Lake County, Indiana, expanding this way, that have been working in Illinois coming this way. So we do need to supply retail space and uh a small light industrial kind of business park type space for those users. And of course, everybody wants to be a downtown Velpo. That can't always happen. They might want to be a downtown Chesterton. That might not happen just because there's no space for them there. Um, but the commercial environment is staying strong here. Um, and and actually, one of the biggest projects right now is we're working on zoning and the UDO and uh comp plan revision for the city of Valpo right now. I'm involved in the planning commission, so that's why I have some of this knowledge, um, as well as some of my uh my other roles in the city. So um overall, I don't know about you, but I think people want to do live and work here in Valpo still.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, 100%. I'm also seeing uh, you know, I have five new five new neighbors in my street alone, they're all from Illinois. Yeah. Uh St. Charles all the way up to Winneka. Um you know, and you know, I was in an Illinois it you know 23 years ago and came over to Valpo's how I found Valpo. So yeah, um, you know, the waves started years ago, um, and it's come, you know, it's come a long way since then.
SPEAKER_02:It has. It has.
SPEAKER_01:Overall, are you still seeing that sort of that uh that trend?
SPEAKER_02:Absolutely. I think uh two-thirds of the buyers I'm working right with right now are from Illinois. Uh another one's from uh actually Michigan City or La Porte coming over this way. So it just we see in migration here. Um I I do think there's some regional game changers that we've seen take place. Uh one of those is the improvement of the South Shore Rail into downtown Chicago and transit-oriented development around that, whether you're in Lake County or up near Chesterton or in Michigan City, uh, where housing and and market is being built around uh those transit sites uh that now serve Chicago in about an hour. You know, it used to be that what was it, an hour and a half train ride from uh from Dune Station to Millennium Park.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Um, so that's kind of changed the game a little bit. And certainly uh Valpo Dash has made a difference too with those people commuting in Chicago that want to work here. Um that gives them uh an affordable, uh low, lower stress way for them to get in and out of the city.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, and just for those listeners out there that don't know what the Valpo Dash is, is it started as a bus uh community, you know, basically started off with one bus, a nice, beautiful, you know, uh you know, RV type bus and quality, modern coach. And then um, I think we're up to we've been up to as many as five. Yeah. Um I think it's three to five six. Three to five on a regular basis from here into Chicago at different times, um, you know, as a commuter. Uh it's just fantastic. Um the show's Money Matters are Greg. I'm Greg Farrell, CEO and owner of Feral Wealth. Uh, we're broadcasting here on WVLP 103.1 FM, as well as anywhere you pod. We are uh honored and flattered to have uh uh the you know one of the one of the real estate gurus here in the area to talk about uh real estate and Matt Evans and uh just kind of going through some questions uh that I have for him in regards to you know where we are, where we're headed. Uh thanks for that update for sure. Also, is there anything that really the listeners need to know uh as far as what to watch out for? Uh what's gonna cost them money um ultimately in some sort of transaction, uh in a real estate transaction, whether they're starting their own home building or whatever it might be. Do you have any sort of tips for the group?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think one of those things is to always consider um property taxes, HOA fees, um, those extra monthly expenses that you're gonna incur either as part of your escrow payment or as part of your monthly expense with an HOA. So we see HOAs, especially in condo situations, where they're maintaining the house or the outside of the building, everything basically from the drywall outside the drywall, um the lawn, the snow removal, the trash, um, those fees can be anywhere from you know$400 to$600,$700 a month. So I think it's important to get your head around what those expenses are when you're buying. The second thing I'd say is um when you're looking at um property taxes is knowing that in in Valparaiso Center Township, as we sit, uh, it tends to be about 1.2% of your assessed value uh is your tax payment every uh every year. So if you break that down on a monthly basis, you'll understand what that is. And of course, any good uh mortgage broker is gonna give you those forecasts in advance so you know what your monthly costs are. Um but 1.2% of assessed value is about where it lies because we have a referendum in in uh center township uh to support the schools. So until that um sunsets off or gets renewed or whatever happens, uh it'll be there. Um the normal rate in Indiana is about 1%. Um now, if it's an investment property, it'll be uh residential investment be 2%. And if it's commercial property, it's gonna be taxed more at 3%. Um, possibly again with a little uptick for that uh referendum payment. Um other things are what home insurance has gone up too, Greg, right? Uh home liability. Um we've had some claims lately uh with uh you know around the area uh with uh hail storms and and wind storms and other things. So got a siren coming by, may have to mute this in a minute.
SPEAKER_01:No worries. Um we uh uh we've seen just with clients buying second homes and you know snowbirds, whatnot going to Florida uh for sure. Uh property casualty has really surprised a lot of people because they've been in arrears in essence, same with taxes, uh, and then now the future holds uh double, if not triple, increases uh for an annual basis. And same with HOAs, we're seeing HOAs as high as almost$2,000 a month. Yeah. Um, depending on where they live and where how close they are to the water. And some are even you know an hour inland and they're getting triple uh property casualty numbers. So it's really just changed the market down there for sure, as far as accessibility.
SPEAKER_02:And we often help people um find realtors uh and actually kind of source them out and can refer buyers to areas so for second homes. So it might be gosh, it could even be uh you know Gold Coast in Chicago, it could be in Michigan, it could be down in Florida, like you mentioned, or Texas, or anywhere in in the country, and and actually vet agents in those areas to help you uh have good advice when you go to shop. So if you don't know anybody down there, don't worry about it. Talk to your local real estate agent and they can give you some good guidance on who to who to work with.
SPEAKER_01:Some great tips. Yeah, thank you. And uh by the way, how does one get a hold of you?
SPEAKER_02:So I'm available here in Valparaiso at Remax Lifestyles and uh through uh uh online, you can find me at mattevins team.com or themattevans team.com, or in our case for the whole company, it's lifestylesindiana.com. All right, very cool.
SPEAKER_01:Um, what about we're all we're big advocates in owning some sort of real estate in your portfolio as an asset class, uh for sure, whether it be large-scale REITs that can ultimately pay you a dividend, um, whether it be uh, you know, if you are a flipper or whatever, then hey, you know, go to it. Let's try to talk about um getting LLCs, making sure you're protected and all of these things that kind of really affect your dollars. Um, if you know, if you're going from one, let's say one stage all the way up to multi-billion dollar REITs and owning big boxes and and going into these, you know, uh different uh groups and places to invest. What are you seeing as far as the flippers of the world and the you know, in and out? Is that still a rage? I know it it has been obviously with HGTV and a number of different things in different cities, but what are you seeing here?
SPEAKER_02:We still have people doing that around our local area and they've been doing it for years. I would say the margins are probably thinner than ever as costs to renovate have gone up and as the market has kind of, I guess, leveled out, so to speak. We've seen a slight increase in home prices this year. Um, the median price um has kind of stabilized as far as increasing. Um so that's been kind of healthy. But but you know, the amazing thing is that median prices are up 191% in Valparaiso over the last 10 years. So from 2014 to 2024, we've seen median prices go up 191%. So that's that attainability affordability measure that I mentioned. Yeah, but also it affects the flipper, right? Because they're spending more to get the homes that that they hope to renovate and deliver. Um, so I think where the opportunity is there tends to be. Um, they're getting a great deal either from a foreclosure or a sheriff sale, or perhaps they um knew uh somebody that needed to dispose of a home that was in really, really rough condition and nobody was willing to touch it. It needed maybe some foundation work, maybe some roof work, maybe new windows. Um, those are opportunities for people to come in and fully renovate. I think right now, Greg, gone are the days of the cosmetic flip, if you will, where you can come in, put some new light fixtures in, put some paint on it, uh uh, and and it sells. Um, I think those are tougher and tougher to find.
SPEAKER_01:Okay. Great advice here from Matt Evans. Uh Matt, I just want to thank you for being on the show. Uh really appreciate the time and thanks for the help. Uh, he said where you can find them, obviously online, Matt Evans team. Uh, you can just go, you can just Google it and it it's right there.
SPEAKER_02:So uh thanks for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity.
SPEAKER_01:Great community member.
SPEAKER_02:You're welcome.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you. Have a great day. Great holiday, everybody.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks for tuning in to Money Matters with Greg. We hope you gained some valuable insights today. Remember, your financial journey is personal, but you don't have to go it alone. If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe and share. Until next time, here's to Making Your Money Work for You. Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor, member FINRA SIPC.
