“Keeping the dream of homeownership alive today is really about helping people replace confusion with clarity. The dream is not dead. The strategy is just different.”
This is how Adam Gillespie—a Denver-based Realtor®, AI strategist, CRM coach and co-founder of Apex Elite AI—describes the challenges facing those pursuing the American Dream of homeownership in today’s market and the essential role agents play in guiding clients through the home-buying process.
“A lot of buyers still want to own a home, but they are overwhelmed by interest rates, affordability, inventory and all the noise online,” says Gillespie, who has seen agents adapt their approach to become more proactive in order to help buyers succeed in a market that often feels out of reach for many.
“The old approach of waiting for a buyer to say, ‘I’m ready,’ is not enough anymore. Agents need to be using their CRM, automation, market education and personalized follow-up to stay connected with people before they are ready, while they are discouraged and after they have hit a roadblock,” he explains.
“Buyers don’t just need someone to open doors,” adds Gillespie, who is focused on education, preparation and consistent follow-up when coaching real estate professionals and working within his business. “They need someone who can help them understand their options, build a real plan and stay encouraged long enough to make a smart decision.”
And while data over the last 10 years indicate that the rate of using an agent has actually increased, which is contrary to almost every single prediction Leo Pareja has read in the two decades he’s been in the business, the eXp Realty CEO points to the agent’s role in the real estate process as more important than ever before.
In fact, it’s the agent—or local expert—that Pareja often equates with the Sherpa within his talks across the industry.
“In a world where you wanted to climb Mount Everest, you could go to your favorite LLM and get the exact workout routine, diet and list of equipment to buy,” he explains. “And with that and YouTube, you could pretty much prepare for the journey by yourself. But when you get to the base of the Himalayas, I would highly encourage you to hire that expert who’s done it 400 times—and more importantly, to carry that gear on their back and help you interpret the data.”
According to Pareja, the amount of information available to consumers today is more like a barrage that only an expert can help parse through.
“There’s a giant demand for the expert because the automation that’s coming from technology is removing the mundane out of the role and letting the expert who can really interpret the data counsel people and guide people at a premium,” says Pareja, who believes we’re entering the era of the “human premium” where the expert who can actually interpret the data, guide somebody and hold their hand throughout the process is critically important.
“The average American moves six times in their life, so the last time you did it, the world was dramatically different. And the next time you’ll do it, the world will be dramatically different. So having someone who you trust who’s done it a lot to hold your hand and guide you through it is even more important,” he adds.
“Good agents will guide their clients through any market to achieve their goals,” says Brown Harris Stevens CEO Bess Freedman, who highlights transparency and education as the necessary ingredients to help today’s buyers succeed.
“The best we can do is help our clients put their best foot forward, help them understand the changes and adjust accordingly,” says Freedman, pointing to the things that are happening in the industry that she refers to as counterproductive—namely, private listings and the pied-a-terre tax that recently passed in NYC.
With so much uncertainty and volatility around us, according to Freedman, being a voice of reason, showing up and making space for trust is more important than ever.
“Real estate agents are helping people navigate milestone moments in their lives: first home, new babies, deaths, divorces, marriages, career moves. When you add in high interest rates, high prices, changing tax laws—it can all be very overwhelming,” explains Freedman, underscoring the importance of human connection in today’s market.
Navigating today’s market
For prospective buyers who may be discouraged by current market conditions, Freedman’s advice for those who find something they love is to go for it if they have the means.
“You cannot time the market perfectly even in the best of times, but you can always refinance. You can get a good deal on something that isn’t 100% perfect, move in and take your time renovating,” she says.
“Rents certainly aren’t coming down, and in that scenario, you’re only helping the landlord pay off their mortgage and taxes but you haven’t built up any of your own equity,” adds Freedman. “Homeownership is a true investment in yourself, and your future. You must be judicious, but there are practical ways to make it happen.”
While the market may require more patience, more creativity and more preparation than it did a few years ago, according to Gillespie, that doesn’t mean homeownership is out of reach.
“Sometimes the win is improving your financing position. Sometimes it is adjusting the search. Sometimes it is understanding the trade-offs before emotions take over,” says Gillespie, whose advice to buyers is simple: Do not confuse “harder” with “impossible.”
“The key is to stop guessing and start building a plan,” he says.
“Homeownership is the foundation of wealth creation, and it’s one of the things that differentiates our country from the rest of the world,” says Pareja, who notes that while it’s an equation based on a variety of inputs depending on both the market and season of life you’re in, the one thing he always comes back to is the fact that it’s a personal decision—a personal journey for the quality of life you want.
Having sold close to 4,000 homes in the 15 years he spent working as a real estate professional, Pareja points to a script he used with buyers to ensure everyone was on the same page as far as the parameters of buying a house.
“I would actually draw a triangle, and I would put three dots on it and I said, ‘Here’s price, here’s location, and here are the physical attributes. You can pick any two you want, and the market will pick the third one for you.’
“So if somebody said to me, ‘I want a brand-new single-family home and my budget is $600,000,’ I could say, ‘Okay, that’s an hour-and-a-half commute and three counties over because you’re setting (that) you want new construction and you’re setting the price.’ But if you say, ‘Hey, I need to be in this zip code or this school district and my budget is $600,000,’ then the market will say, ‘Okay, there are four properties available, two are condos, two are townhouses, and they were all built in the 70s.’
“By taking that approach, I could almost zoom out and do that in the whole country,” explains Pareja, “because you can pick any two you want, and the market will always pick the third for you.”
The enduring dream of homeownership
Despite the challenges, the dream of homeownership remains alive, with Gillespie pointing to prospective buyers and those waiting on the sidelines still asking questions as the strongest sign.
“They are still watching the market. They are still saving. They are still showing up to consultations. They may be cautious, but they have not stopped wanting stability, ownership and a place to build their life,” says Gillespie, who points to the agents helping keep the American Dream alive as the ones combining real human guidance with better systems.
“Follow-up is not just a sales activity. Done right, it is service. It is how we keep people informed, encouraged and moving forward when the market feels intimidating.”
Drilling down further, Freedman says that Brown Harris Stevens being busy is a key indicator that the American Dream is alive and well.
“People are absolutely looking, even if they aren’t all necessarily purchasing right now,” says Freedman, who is encouraged because homes that are priced well are moving quickly, even in today’s tough market.
“The demand is there, the inventory is not,” she adds. “I think people are accepting that mortgages are around 6%, and they are coming off the sidelines. We do need more homes to hit the market, but I think that will come in time. For now, steady is good.”
For Pareja, his encouraging words come full circle as he emphasizes the fact that homeownership is still one of the best wealth creation tools there is.
“It is a payment you have to make, unlike anything else, where you have to have discipline and have a surplus and create excess savings if you’re going to be in that geography more than 10-plus years, which was always the litmus test for me as an agent who was giving fiduciary advice,” he says.
“And if you’re in a market with more inventory, the opportunity I’m seeing is making sure you’re aware—especially if you’re a first-time homebuyer—of down payment assistance programs by the county, the state and the city, the municipality,” adds Pareja, driving home the point that real estate is hyperlocal, and to be educated as such when going through the process.
