OBRB Tax Law 2026: Real Estate Investment Impact | Ep84

Episode Summary

Mo Choumil analyzes the July 2025 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Bill (OBRB) and its downstream effects on real estate markets one year later. This solo episode explores how permanent tax policy—including SALT cap expansion, 100% bonus depreciation restoration, and Opportunity Zones 2.0—created market certainty that unlocked frozen transaction volume. Title professionals learn how investor behavior shifts when depreciation, estate tax exemptions, and QBI deductions become permanent planning tools rather than expiring provisions subject to political whims.

About Mo Choumil

Mo Choumil is CEO of Alltech National Title and host of the Title Agents Podcast. He guides title insurance professionals through industry transformation by connecting operational strategy with market dynamics. Mo focuses on how macroeconomic policy, technology adoption, and talent development shape transaction volume and agency growth. His analysis bridges regulatory complexity and practical implementation for agency owners, producers, and operations leaders navigating an evolving real estate settlement landscape.

Key Takeaways

• The SALT cap increased from $10,000 to $40,000 for households earning under $500,000, unfreezing move-up buyers in high-tax states who had been trapped by the previous deduction ceiling.
• 100% bonus depreciation became permanent for assets acquired after January 19, 2025, allowing real estate investors using cost segregation studies to write off 20-30% of a building’s value in year one.
• Section 179 limits doubled to $2.5 million and now cover heavy commercial building systems like roofs and HVAC, turning capital expenditures into immediate tax deductions that replenish investor reserves.
• Opportunity Zones 2.0 replaced the December 2026 hard deadline with a rolling five-year holding requirement and added rural goldmine incentives for towns under 50,000 population.
• Estate tax exemptions held at $15 million individual/$30 million married with step-up in basis preserved, making buy-refinance-die strategies viable for legacy wealth transfer.
• The transition dead zone between old and new Opportunity Zone rules in late 2026 created a timing trap where selling assets before January 1, 2027 locked investors into inferior expiring provisions.
• Market paralysis in 2025 stemmed from tax policy uncertainty rather than interest rates, proving that transaction velocity depends more on rule clarity than cost of capital.

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