EP 80: Best Year Ever in a Tough Real Estate Market: What Aussie Steve Did in 2025 When Others Quit

2025 was the year a lot of Real Estate investors hit pause. Higher friction, tighter spreads, shifting demand, and plenty of people waiting on the sidelines.Stephen “Aussie Steve” Keighery did the opposite.In this episode, Steve breaks down why 2025 became his best year yet, how he expanded while others retreated, and what he believes is required to win in 2026. If you want a grounded look at what actually works when the market stops being forgiving, this conversation delivers.

In this episode, you’ll hear:- Why 2025 became a record year for Steve and his team (and why it still wasn’t easy)- The contrarian mindset shift: playing offense as a form of defense- The biggest lever most wholesalers miss in a tough market: disposition- Why relying on a small handful of buyers can quietly break your business- Steve’s approach to building a real buyer bench (he’s closed with 115 different buyers)- Why reps and momentum beat constant optimization, and how “boring” builds the business- The strategy behind expanding into Baton Rouge and the Mississippi Gulf Coast without abandoning New Orleans- Steve’s 2026 target: 100 deals, and what has to be true operationally to get there- How he thinks about investing using fast money, medium money, slow money- His plan to add flips without becoming a rehabber, using the “deal + capital + operator” triangleThe bigger series: 2025 Review and 2026 Focus

This episode is part of a run of conversations where I’m interviewing a handful of operators to get a real look at how 2025 went, what it taught them, and what they’re focusing on in 2026. No pretending the year was easy. Just practical lessons, trends, and strategies from people actively doing deals.The BIG Announcement at the EndIf you listen all the way through, Steve and I share a major update about something new we’re building together inside the Strategic Success Podcast ecosystem. If you invest in Louisiana, want to invest in Louisiana, or want real-time insight into how this market actually works, you’ll want to hear it.
Connect with Aussie Steve and follow along with what he’s doing here:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCBFQ_43MCI9tJ8tB6m9q92g Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stephenkeighery/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stephenkeighery LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenkeighery/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.keigheryX: https://x.com/stephenkeigheryBio Hub: https://homebuyerlouisiana.com/about-us/stephen-keighery/Connect with Courtney Fricke at CourtneyFricke.com and follow her on socials here:Instagram: https://instagram.com/courtneyfrickeTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@courtney.fricke Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/courtneyfricke19/X: https://x.com/courtneyfricke YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCfZlfkGpNzcMuDh6NX7xVpQ Enjoying the podcast?Follow the Strategic Success Podcast so you don’t miss the upcoming interviews and the new announcements tied to 2026. New episodes and clips drop regularly covering creative finance, solution-driven Real Estate strategies, local market insight from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida, content-based deal flow, and building wealth designed to create time freedom.If this episode helped you, share it with an investor friend who’s been tempted to sit out the next cycle.