I'd push back a little... half the value of founders doing support is how annoying it is, writing the same answer for the fifth time is what finally makes you go fix the product, and if an agent smooths that over you could end up hitting send on the same bug forever

Planning a year around two cuts and getting a hike instead is rough for any lender, so this is genuinely impressive... feels like the ones who do well from here are building for rates staying high, especially in housing where buyers can't just keep waiting on a refi

Rex you're not wrong... 74% of merged PRs going through Inspect is a wild number, and the part I liked most is that there was no mandate, people just watched teammates use it in shared sessions and started their own, which is usually how a tool actually sticks

Feels like the same thing is happening to services... in real estate the search apps and listings have been free for years, and what people really pay for is the work of getting into the right house and getting it closed, which is a lot of why we built Homa this way

Honestly I don't think any of those three moves fast enough on its own... what seems to happen instead is buyers closing the gap in pieces, a little price room plus a credit toward a buydown, like a $15k credit on a $750k home taking the payment from about $3,941 to $3,743

Texas is right up there on that price cut list too... for a first time buyer that's the moment to ask a motivated seller for a rate buydown or closing cost help instead of only haggling a few thousand off the price, since the monthly payment is what you actually live with

Almost half of listings with a price cut is a big shift. If homes are closing around 2% under the final asking price, a full price offer is often more than you need to pay, and that's before you ask the seller for credits toward closing costs or a rate buydown.

The builder incentive part is what buyers feel right now. A builder can buy the rate down or cover closing costs in a way most resale sellers won't, so older starter homes in Florida are competing with that on top of insurance costs.

Rates finally went down a little, and I know a little doesn't feel like much when you're trying to buy. Freddie Mac's 30-year average was 7.32% last week, down from 7.40%. A year ago it was 6.19%. The Fed meets this week and is expected to hold.

If the monthly payment is the thing keeping you from buying right now, that makes total sense. On a $1M home, Homa buyers get $20,000 back as a Homa Credit, and putting it toward the rate takes it from 6.99% to 6.37%, about $327 less a month.

I'd take it. Just know the lender will want a signed gift letter saying it isn't a loan, plus a paper trail for the money. It goes easier if it comes over early in one clean deposit, not cash or a bunch of small transfers.

Most first-time buyers don't put 20% down. Conventional loans go as low as 3% for first-time buyers, FHA is 3.5%, and Texas has down payment help on top of that, so the amount you actually need saved is usually a lot less than $84k, even with PMI.

A lot of people feel that way about PMI. On a conventional loan it isn't forever though. You can ask to drop it at 20% equity, it comes off on its own around 22%, and some lenders will count a new appraisal if values go up. FHA works differently, so check which you have.

In Tampa the insurance quote and HOA dues can move your payment as much as the rate does, so I'd get both before writing an offer. Way too many people only find out what insurance really costs after they're already under contract.

Seeing the same in Florida. With two-plus sellers per buyer in Miami and Tampa there's room to ask for credits and repairs, but my main tip for buyers there is to get real insurance quotes during the inspection period, since that's where a lot of deals fall apart.

More listings and fewer buyers means the people still shopping have real leverage, and closing cost credits, repairs and rate buydowns are back to being normal requests in a lot of markets, so there's no reason to negotiate like it's 2021 if you're buying now.

The math is brutal. One thing buyers underuse right now is a seller-paid rate buydown, because in a slow market a credit toward your rate can lower the monthly payment more than the same dollars off the price, so it's worth having your lender run both before you write an offer.

We're seeing this in Austin every week. With five-plus months of supply, buyers can push for things sellers wouldn't discuss in 2021, like paying closing costs, buying down the rate or fixing inspection items, and a lot of first-time buyers here still aren't asking for it.

Congrats on starting! 8 to 10 months is a great runway. Talk to a lender now so you know which credit score bump moves your rate the most, and look up first-time buyer down payment programs in your state. Some help with closing costs too.

Same debate in the US. Since 2024 buyers sign an agreement that spells out the agent fee before touring, and it's negotiable. At Homa we charge 1% ($5k min). The fee should match the work.