Why it’s so hard to get a mortgage and to pick the right Miami condo

It’s always been tougher for gig workers and hourly wage employees to qualify for a mortgage. But new research shows that people in all kinds of occupations who don’t receive regular paychecks are having a more difficult go of it.

Indeed, the study — by employment-verification company Truework — of about 300,000 lender-verified mortgage applications found that it’s no longer good enough to have the income necessary to qualify for financing. Would-be borrowers must also show their incomes are constant and dependable.

Where you live and what you do are also important, the research discovered. But income stability has become a key factor in who makes the cut and who doesn’t.

Income stability “plays a critical, often overlooked role,” reads the Trueway report. Michael Tucker, in a summary of the study for the Mortgage Bankers Association, writes that income stability is “emerging as a new gatekeeper to homeownership.”

Even small fluctuations in monthly earnings can drop a borrower below the cutoff line. So two applicants with the same yearly income, but different schedules of when that income arrives, can have different outcomes.

“It is no longer enough to earn a good income; you need to earn it predictably,” says Truework President Ethan Winchell. “For millions of Americans in service, care and hourly roles, homeownership is increasingly out of reach, not because they aren’t working hard enough, but because the system was not built to accommodate how they earn.”

Truework says this emphasis on income stability couldn’t come at a worse time: As of mid-2025, almost two-thirds of loan applicants had experienced negative fluctuations in their incomes. “At the same time, the severity of those income swings nearly tripled” since 2022, writes Tucker.

The change is largely driven by the increase in hourly workers, seasonal employees and commissioned-based jobs. But the study found that management, technology and finance occupations are vulnerable, too. Even in locations where houses are more affordable, the trend can limit borrowing power.

Applicants with “computer and mathematical” jobs have a 75% chance at qualifying practically everywhere in the country, Trueway found. But food prep workers have only a 4% chance in high-cost Hawaii.

Pick a condo building you can live with

The trick to landing a condominium you love isn’t finding a unit you like; it’s finding a building you can live with, according to South Florida condo expert Peter Zalewski.

Pick the building first and then the apartment, advises Zalewski, who runs the Miami Condo Investing Club and tracks the market weekly. The reason: Every property has its own fees and regulations. Association dues may be higher in Building A, but the rules in Building B may be harder to live with.

Zalewski’s advice is especially wise in South Florida, where there are 610,000 condo apartments and 13,000 condo associations -- “way too many,” he opines.

Speaking of excess, Zalewski says the South Florida market currently has “way too much supply.” In South Beach alone, more than 1,200 units are listed for sale. At the current rate — 79 sales a month — it will take over 15 months to burn off that many apartments.

Mind your business

Want to be a good neighbor when you move to your next residence? Then mind your own business.

Neighborhoods are playing a less central role in real-world socialization, and young people are driving the trend, according to new research from the American Enterprise Institute.

“For most young people in the U.S., being a good neighbor is more about keeping your distance than about engaging with those living nearby,” reads a post on AEI’s LinkedIn page. “Seventy percent of young adults say that being a good neighbor is about not getting involved in others’ affairs, whereas 57% of seniors say the same. Additionally, 54% of Americans who attend religious services more than once a week say keeping your distance from others makes you a good neighbor, compared with 73% of people who never attend religious services.”

“The neighborhood is still important,” says Daniel Cox, who runs the Survey Center on American Life at AEI. “But it occupies a less central place than it once did. Young adults have experienced one of the most rapid declines in neighborly interaction — only 1 in 4 say they talk with their neighbors regularly, a drop of more than half in just over a decade.”

One-and-done homebuyers

The phrase “one and done” usually applies to college athletes who stay in school a single year before opting to join the professional ranks. But according to a new survey from BMO Financial Group, the term can now also apply to today’s homebuyers.

Because first-time buyers now are older than in generations past, the survey found, they plan to buy once and never again. A clear majority (65%) of aspiring homeowners expect their first home to also be their forever home. And 58% of non-homeowners say buying a starter home and upgrading later doesn’t make sense anymore.

“With more first-time homebuyers entering the market later in life, they are no longer looking for a starter home, but rather a house that matches their life stage and family needs,” said Paul Dilda, head of U.S. consumer strategy at BMO, in a writeup on Realtor.com.

Lew Sichelman has been covering real estate for more than 50 years. He is a regular contributor to numerous shelter magazines and housing and housing-finance industry publications. Readers can contact him at lsichelman@aol.com.