09.10.25

Written by Chase Majerus

Twenty. Billion. Dollars.

Welcome to This Week Today! The newsletter built to make you smarter about money, housing, and the economy without putting you to sleep. Our whole thing? Cut through the noise, skip the jargon, and give you the stories that actually matter to your wallet, told in a way that’s quick, clear, and (hopefully) fun.

Think of it as your weekly cheat sheet to sound sharp at happy hour, prep for your next big move, or just feel a little more in control of the financial chaos out there. Is anyone even reading this part of the newsletter? If you are, wasn’t that Sunday Night Football game crazy? Let’s dive into your This Week Today newsletter!

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Today's Agenda:

S1L Home Equity Loan

Use Your Home For The Best Future Gains

A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, lets you borrow against your home’s available equity. Applying for a HELOC with Synergy One Lending is fast and easy. Our application is fast, easy, and all online. If pre-approved, you’ll be instantly presented with your offer options.

Keychain

Bye-Bye Trigger Leads, Hello Bigger Social Security Checks

(from Housingwire.com HERE and HERE)

Big moves in Washington this week: one aimed at stopping your phone from exploding with spam calls, the other at protecting your Social Security check.

First up, President Trump signed the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, finally slamming the door on “trigger leads.” If you’ve ever applied for a mortgage and immediately felt like every lender in America got your number, that’s because they did.

Starting March 2026, that data free-for-all ends. No more lenders ambushing you with “exclusive offers” unless you actually gave them permission. The mortgage industry has been begging for this change for years, calling it a win for sanity and consumer respect. Critics say it might help big lenders lock out competition, but for borrowers, it means fewer annoying calls when you’re already stressed about buying a home.

Meanwhile, Sen. Ruben Gallego wants to give Social Security a facelift.

His You Earned It, You Keep It Act would wipe out federal taxes on Social Security benefits (goodbye, surprise tax bills) while making the ultra-wealthy kick in more by paying payroll tax on income above $250,000. That combo would keep the trust fund solvent until 2058, way past the current 2032 cliff.

Together, these two moves tell a similar story: government actually doing something practical to protect people’s wallets.

Less spam in your inbox, more money in your pocket. And for once, both sides of the aisle actually agreed on something. Wild, right?

Read more here and HERE

Major Manor

Emma Stone's $26.5M Texas Estate

(from US Magazine.com)

Oscar-winner Emma Stone is shaking up the Austin real estate scene with her newly renovated, $26.5 million West Austin retreat. The 36-year-old star and her husband, Dave McCary, bought the property in 2021, now it’s hitting the market with some serious Lone Star luxury. Let’s check out the home!…

  • 7 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, and a 1.24-acre lot
  • Re-envisioned by architecture firm Cuppett Kilpatrick with custom millwork, herringbone oak floors, marble fireplaces, and leaded-glass windows
  • A lushly landscaped yard with a pool, hot tub, fairy garden, cutting garden, and even a screened breezeway for Texas summers
  • A 2 bedroom guest home, plus a garage with a screening room (for watching NFL Redzone right?) and entertaining space
  • Spacious chef’s kitchen with white cabinetry, wood island, and floral backsplash
  • Spa-like tubs, patterned tile bathrooms, and an oversized walk-in closet with a decorative lattice ceiling

With Lady Bird Lake just a half-mile away and downtown Austin minutes from the door, Stone’s estate offers the perfect mix of serene escape and city excitement. Whoever buys it will be living big… just like Texas!

Read more here

Social Space

Our Top Social Links of the week

Read:
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says the economy ‘is weakening’ – Read here!

Video:
Craziest Golf Airbnb You’ll Ever See – See here!

Read:
Comstock Soars 74% in 3 Months: What’s Driving the Rally? – Read here!

Video:
Building new furniture? Millie the dog is here to help! – Watch here!

Read:
New builds now cost less than existing properties – Read here!

Financial Fitness

Jobs and Rate Cuts

(from Fortune.com)

Trump’s latest feud with Fed Chair Jerome Powell just got hotter after a brutal jobs report revision showed 911,000 fewer jobs than previously thought.

Markets are rattled, Powell’s under fire, and whispers of stagflation (weak growth + sticky inflation) are back on the table.

So what does that mean for everyday homeowners? If the Fed cuts rates, it doesn’t automatically mean mortgage rates will fall (those follow the bond market more than Powell’s announcements), but Fed cuts do directly impact short-term rates like credit cards, auto loans, and especially HELOCs (Home Equity Lines of Credit).

HELOCs, you say? What is that? Can we go back to talking about football? Is anyone else freaking out about their fantasy football team?

It’s flexible, revolving credit that lets you tap into your home’s value for renovations, debt consolidation, or just extra breathing room during rocky economic cycles (COUGH).

Unlike a fixed cash-out refinance at today’s still-high rates, a HELOC is variable, so if Powell bows to the pressure and cuts rates, your HELOCE could actually get cheaper over time.

In a world where headlines scream about “stagflation” and “rolling recessions” and “weakening economy” and “your fantasy football team is costing you money” (maybe that’s just me), having a HELOC through a trusted lender like Synergy One Lending isn’t just smart, it’s peace of mind.

Tap That Equity Like It’s Hot

S1 FinFit App

Digital financial assistant at your fingertips

S1 FinFit is a FREE app that provides a roadmap to help you reach your financial and lifestyle goals, no matter how big or small! Free credit monitoring with alerts, set financial goals, create budgets, and keep track of your spending to see where your money is going.

Download the app on the appropriate app store with the links below!

Keychain

AI Boom = Rent Doom?

(from CNBC.com)

Sometimes I wish AI would focus less on changing the world and more on folding my laundry.

A CBRE report found that the number of tech workers with AI skills in the U.S. and Canada jumped more than 50% from mid-2024 to mid-2025, now topping 517,000 people. Most of them are clustering in the Bay Area, New York, Seattle, Toronto, and D.C., where AI firms (and financial services companies chasing the same talent) are on a hiring binge.

Unlike other tech jobs that went remote, AI is very much an in-office grind, which has juiced demand for office space. In San Francisco, 1 in 4 square feet leased recently went to an AI company. But the bigger ripple? Apartment rents are climbing in these AI hubs, as well-paid workers can still afford pricey markets without breaking the 30%-of-income affordability rule.

From 2021 to 2024, Manhattan rents rose over 14%, D.C. jumped 12%, Seattle was up 7%, and San Francisco nearly 6%.

If AI is the new gold rush, landlords in these cities are already cashing in. Anyone else worried about an AI bubble?

Read more here

$20,000,000,000,000

(from Finance.Yahoo.com)

America’s housing market just pulled off a jaw-dropping flex: it gained $20 trillion in value in just five years, ballooning to a record $55 trillion, according to Zillow.

That’s a 57% jump since 2020, even with high mortgage rates keeping a lot of buyers on the sidelines.

But the wealth surge isn’t spread evenly. New York is on fire, adding $216 billion in value last year alone, while pandemic darlings Florida, California, and Texas actually lost billions as buyers cooled on sunshine states weighed down by soaring insurance costs, higher taxes, and climate risks.

In places like Florida, some deals are falling apart once insurance quotes hit the table. Meanwhile, new construction is bailing out parts of the Sun Belt, with Texas and Florida ranking among the top states where freshly built homes are keeping valuations afloat.

America’s housing market is still insanely valuable… but depending on where you live, it’s either breaking records or breaking hearts.

Read more here

Vlog

Your Financial Glow-Up Starts Here

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Click to watch video

Too busy or stressed to budget? You’re not alone. That’s why we built S1-FinFit, our free app that takes the stress out of money management.

One of our awesome Loan Officers, Jennifer Romero, made a great video walking through how this app simplifies your financial life. She shows why S1 FinFit isn’t just another money tracker, it’s your roadmap to smarter money moves and homeownership.

What You Get with S1-FinFit:

  • Free Credit Monitoring & Alerts
  • Budgeting & Goal Tracking
  • All-in-One View of Accounts & Loans
  • All-in-One View of Accounts & Loans
  • Spending Insights
  • Mortgage Readiness Tools
  • Can’t Track Your Fantasy Football Team But Wouldn’t That Be Awesome?
  • Home Value & Equity Tracking

With S1-FinFit, there are no spreadsheets, no stress, just progress. Think of it as your financial glow-up starter kit.

Download the app today and start moving toward your money and homeownership goals. And be sure to watch Jennifer’s video to see it in action!

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