Rich Habits Podcast – Episode Summary
Episode Title: Trump's Ban on Single Family Homes, Nvidia's CES Announcements, & Google's Rise to #2
Hosts: Austin Hankwitz & Robert Croak
Date: January 9, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of the Rich Habits Podcast dives into major developments affecting personal finance, investing, and the broader economy. Austin and Robert break down Donald Trump’s proposed ban on Wall Street firms purchasing single-family homes, Nvidia’s much-anticipated announcements from CES, and the shifting hierarchy of tech giants as Google overtakes Apple in market valuation. The hosts also share hot takes, ETF sector trends, and notable market callouts, all with practical advice for everyday investors.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Trump’s Proposed Ban on Wall Street Buying Single Family Homes

• News Recap: Donald Trump announced steps to ban Wall Street institutions from purchasing single-family homes, intending to reduce prices and increase affordability. He's urging Congress to pass supporting legislation.
  • Robert Croak (01:39): “Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration is moving to ban Wall Street firms from buying up all the single family homes in an effort to reduce prices and create more affordability.”
• Context & Stats:
  • Wall Street companies like Blackstone, American Homes for Rent, and Progress Residential have bought over 500,000 single-family homes since 2008 (02:00).
  • Blackstone claims institutional home purchases have declined by 90% since 2022, but the hosts question the selective statistics.
• Market Data:
  • Home sale prices up only 1.7% year-over-year, slowest growth in over 13 years (02:44).
• Impact for Listeners:
  • Robert Croak (03:30): “In my opinion, this levels the playing field for the everyday buyer...from an investor perspective, it's probably not a good idea to be owning shares in these [housing] companies until this uncertainty unfolds.”

Notable Quote:

Austin Hankwitz (02:00):
“Wall street institutions like Blackstone ... have bought over. Here we go. Ready? Drumroll. Half a million single family homes since the financial crisis of 2008. That feels illegal, Robert. That’s insane to me.”

2. Build-for-Rent Trend

• Institutional Strategy Shift:
  • Commenting on the rise of institutions building entire neighborhoods specifically to rent (“build for rent”), not just buying existing homes.
  • Companies like Fundrise are deep into this space.
• Outlook:
  • Unclear how Trump’s move impacts new built-for-rent developments.

3. Nvidia’s CES Announcements

• Major Products and Partnerships:
  • Alpameo: Reasoning model for guiding AVs in complex situations (06:14).
  • Cosmos & Isaac: Training models for robotics and physical machines; partnerships with Boston Dynamics, Caterpillar, LG Electronics.
  • Rubin GPU: Five times more AI training compute than Blackwell, potentially half a trillion in revenue projected between 2025–2026.
• Industry Impacts:
  • Betting on radar and lidar for Mercedes-Benz vs. Tesla’s camera-only approach (06:51).
• Investment Angle:
  • Robert Croak (07:49): “I definitely remain bullish on NV Media obviously for the long term. But also, don’t sleep on Hyundai; they own 80% of Boston Dynamics.”

Notable Quote:

Austin Hankwitz (06:51):
“Who is not excited about Reuben? Blackwell and Rubin together, according to Jensen Huang, are supposed to do half a trillion dollars of revenue between 2025 existing sales and 2026. Absolutely unbelievable.”

4. JPMorgan Takes Over Apple Credit Card

• The Deal:
  • JPMorgan Chase assumed the Apple Card from Goldman Sachs.
  • Goldman Sachs is exiting with a $1B+ discount on $20B in outstanding balances (08:31).
• Concerns:
  • Deep subprime exposure; high delinquency rates require $2.2B set aside for credit losses.
  • Discounted balances for Apple Card are unusual; strong programs (e.g., AmEx/Delta) typically trade at a premium.
• Advice for Listeners:
  • Austin Hankwitz (09:52): “...JPMorgan Chase now gets a loyal base of Apple customers who at any point they can go and pitch more financial products to...It’s a win-win for these two companies. It’s a lose for anyone in high interest debt.”
  • Pay off credit card balances monthly; use the card for cash back instead of accruing debt.

Notable Quote:

Austin Hankwitz (08:31):
“Can we just take a moment of silence for the $20 billion of credit card balances out there. What in the... Why, what are y’ all doing? Pay off your Apple cards!”

5. ETF Sector Trends (Presented by ETFcentral.com)

• Top 3 Best Performing ETF Segments:
  • Alternative energy: +10.5%
  • Space & deep sea: +10%
  • Biotech: +7.5% (11:53)
• Worst Performers:
  • Energy (traditional): -6%
  • Cannabis/psychedelics: -3.5%
  • US Utilities: -2% (12:18)
• Observations:
  • Big divergence between traditional and alternative energy; hosts caution against “chasing” headlines, e.g. oil stocks following short-lived geopolitical events.

Notable Exchange:

Austin Hankwitz (12:18):
“Isn't that interesting though, to observe how energy specifically as a segment is down… but alternative energy is up 11%?”
Robert Croak (12:42):
“It drives me nuts...when the news of Venezuela happened, all the oil stocks surged for one day and then went right back down. And this is fool’s gold...”

6. Hot Takes and Market Callouts

Austin’s Picks:

• Trump Blocks Defense Companies’ Buybacks:
  • Dividends and buybacks blocked for defense contractors not meeting weapons production targets (13:20).
  • Austin (13:45): “This tells me something might be happening behind the scenes...Trump is getting really, really focused on weapons and having a stockpile of them for who knows in 26 and 27.”
• Google (Alphabet) Overtakes Apple:
  • Alphabet now $3.9T, #2 globally after a 64% stock run in 12 months, driven by Gemini AI (14:15).
  • Austin (14:25): “I'm owning it for a lifetime. I'm not taking profits.”
• Private Sector Jobs Data:
  • December saw 41,000 additional private jobs, mostly from small businesses.
  • Pay up 4.5% overall, 6.5% for job hoppers (15:05).

Robert’s Radar:

• Pizza as a Pentagon Signal:
  • A social media account tracks Pentagon pizza delivery surges, possibly signaling upcoming defense events (16:50).
• NAR Predicts Housing Rebound:
  • 14% jump in US home sales volume expected for 2026, mortgage rates potentially dropping below 6% (17:54).
• Coinbase Upgrades:
  • Bank of America and Goldman Sachs move COIN to “buy,” citing leadership in tokenization and layer 2 blockchain (18:40).
  • Interesting fact: CEO Brian Armstrong has never bought COIN stock since IPO; 88 sells, zero buys (20:30).
• Supreme Court Tariff Rulings:
  • Major pending decision on Trump’s tariffs with $150B+ at stake for companies seeking refunds; possible market volatility (19:40).

Notable Quotes

• Austin Hankwitz, on institutions buying homes (02:00):
  “That feels illegal, Robert. That’s insane to me.”

• Robert Croak, on homebuying competition (03:30):
  “This levels the playing field for the everyday buyer and there’s going to be less competition.”

• Austin Hankwitz, on Apple Card debt (08:31):
  “Pay off your Apple cards. Dang it.”

• Robert Croak, on sector rotation (12:42):
  “[Buying oil stocks on headlines] is fool’s gold for people that are trying to chase these headlines and follow what these fake gurus tell them to do.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Trump Ban on Single Family Home Purchases: 01:39 – 04:54
• Nvidia’s CES Announcements: 05:00 – 07:49
• JPMorgan/Apple Card Takeover: 07:49 – 10:47
• ETF Sector Trends: 10:56 – 13:20
• Hot Takes/Show & Tell: 13:20 – 22:10

Memorable Moments

• Pizza Delivery as Military Indicator:
  Pentagon Pizza Report on X.com tracks late-night pizza deliveries as a proxy for military activities (16:50).
• CEO Selling Stock:
  Brian Armstrong’s record of never buying his company’s stock despite public enthusiasm for COIN (20:30).

Takeaways and Financial Habits

• Monitor market headlines, but avoid reacting to short-term hype or “fake guru” advice
• Avoid high-interest debt; use rewards cards smartly and pay off balances monthly
• Diversify across sectors and consider long-term shifts (e.g., AI, alternative energy)
• Look for policy changes that could benefit small businesses and everyday investors
• Stay informed on market signals and unusual indicators (such as...pizza!)

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