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What I Know. I Don’t Know.

This is what do I know regarding buying a home in 2025. “It’s hard to buy a home.” Why? With our clients Homebuyer Associates must:

1. Determine what is needed to buy a home including down payment.

2. Find a home.

3. Determine value. (The asking price for a home is most often not value. Know the value.)

4. Determine if one should pay over value and if so, how much.

5. Negotiate the purchase.

6. Anticipate covering an appraisal gap.

7. Negotiate post inspection matters of concern.

8. Close the purchase.

One of the better compliments I heard as a college basketball player was, “Holloway, he knows when not to quit.”

Consider being me on the hardcourt if you want to be a homebuyer in 2025. You must have a plan and know when not to quit.

I think buying a home is as much about the use of your money as it is buying a home because the two largest areas of personal financial risk are:

A. Buying a home.

B. Investing in the stock/bond markets.

Let’s use Wall Street as an analogy for homebuying. Every January, Wall Street predicts what the market will do in the coming year. And every year predictions get proven wrong. It’s a ritual and the purpose of the ritual is to start conversations with customers to generate trades.

Predictions are wonderful sales tools.

When people ask me if they should wait for mortgage rates to drop before buying a home, I tell them what I know: “I don’t know because I can’t predict the mortgage market.”

I do know interest rates are in the 6.8% range and the best time to buy a home is when you feel you can afford to buy a home, no matter the mortgage rate. This, said by a guy who bought his first home with a 15% mortgage.

So, it’s a new year. If you are thinking about whether to buy a home, get your Kaizen on and be curious.

Kaizen might save you money. Kaizen, a Japanese term, holds a place in my heart adjacent to curiosity. Kaizen means “continuous, incremental improvement and challenging the status quo in search of better home, personal and work life.”

The status quo in real estate is too often defined by those who make the most noise or have the largest advertising budget. Noise and marketing are not limited to real estate. You also find noise and marketing in the financial sector.

It’s interesting that the two areas in which your money is most at risk – real estate and investing – are often served by approaches that may not represent your fiduciary interest. Noise rules

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Aside: Years ago I ran a basketball camp in addition to Homebuyer Associates. My basketball tag line?

“If you want a Big camp (lots of kids) with Big names (famous coaches) we’re not it.”

There is a consistency in my approach to basketball and real estate.

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Your Kaizen, continuous and incremental improvement will only be realized if you are open to learning, are curious and question the noise. Why do I write this?

We are in interesting times for homebuying. Buying a home is difficult today. If you aren’t careful with your money – your home purchase and investments – you run the risk of having to work for a long, long time. Don’t assume noise is a qualifier for experience and skill.

Commit yourself to continuous, incremental improvement. Develop a curiosity and ask questions and question the answers. Our approach to homebuying isn’t about selling you something, it’s about informing you about a lot of things. Questions and curiosity.

As we enter 2025, if you are considering buying a home, it’s a good time to not only think about the next 12 months, but the next 5+ years. If a home is purchased correctly, even with rates in the 6.8% range, that purchase can make sense over a 5–7-year timeline.

If you want to discuss the real estate market, homebuying process and your Kaizen over coffee, contact us. We’ll listen, we’ll talk.

Please forward this newsletter to at least one person who needs it.

Selling? We don’t list homes for sale so contact us for an objective, independent opinion on price and the process of selling in today’s market.

We’ll give you the inside scoop on the good and bad practices in real estate.

Having helped over 1,800 homebuyers you learn a lot about the selling side. The goal: Make educated and informed decisions.

Thanks for reading,
Michael D. Holloway

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Homebuyer Associates
1835 N. Riverwalk Way
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Phone: 414-254-4129
info@homebuyerassociates.com