Buying in
Today’s Market
You do not have to love today’s interest rates to make a smart real estate decision. You need to understand the numbers and have the right strategy.
Buyer Market Strategy • September 2026
Presenter note: Open by acknowledging the obvious. Buyers are nervous about rates. We are not here to tell them rates do not matter. They do.
The point of the presentation is to move the conversation from “I hate the rate” to “What does the entire purchase look like and what can we control?”
Introductory strategy slide. No external factual claim requires a source.
Rates moved fast.
This is why buyers who are watching mortgage rates every day can feel like the ground is moving underneath them.
Do not tell buyers that rates will go up or down next. We do not know.
The point is volatility. A buyer can make a decision based on today’s numbers and then evaluate future opportunities if the market changes.
Mortgage News Daily
30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Index
9/22/26: 7.17%
9/29/26: 7.58%
National index information is educational and is not a rate quote or offer to lend.
“I saw rates were 7%.
Why am I hearing 7.5%?”
7.58%
Daily index as of September 29, 2026.
7.03%
Weekly survey as of September 24, 2026.
They are measuring the market differently and at different times. Your actual mortgage rate also depends on your loan and your individual situation.
This is useful for agents because buyers often quote a number they saw online as though it were a rate available to every borrower.
Explain that national surveys are useful for understanding direction, but they are not a personal loan quote.
Mortgage News Daily:
Daily 30-Year Fixed Index
Freddie Mac:
Mortgage Rates and Affordability
Freddie Mac reported a 7.03% 30-year fixed average as of September 24, 2026.
The question is not just:
“What is the rate?”
The better question is:
“What does it cost me to own this particular home?”
Price
Payment
Cash
Strategy
This is the transition from market education into strategy.
I want buyers looking at all of the levers in the transaction instead of allowing one interest-rate number to make the entire decision.
Conceptual educational slide. No external data source required.
“I’m just going to wait until rates come down.”
Waiting may be the right decision. But first, let’s get clear on what you are waiting for.
Known numbers
Purchase price
Payment
Negotiated concessions
Cash to close
Available inventory
Future unknowns
Future rate
Future price
Future competition
Future inventory
Additional rent while waiting
This is not “buy now because rates might go up.”
The objection handler is: “That may make sense. Let’s first identify exactly what would need to happen for waiting to improve your situation.”
No market prediction is being made on this slide.
Higher rates create a problem.
They can also change the negotiating environment.
Seller concessions
Use available concessions strategically when permitted.
Temporary buydowns
Reduce the buyer’s initial payment for a defined period.
Permanent buydowns
Compare cost, monthly savings and break-even.
Offer structure
Look beyond price alone to the complete financial result.
Kelly’s team controls the real estate negotiation. I control the mortgage structure.
The opportunity is bringing those two pieces together before the offer is written.
Seller-paid financing concessions and temporary buydowns are subject to loan-program requirements and contribution limits.
Use a 2-1 temporary buydown.
Instead of reducing the contract price dollar-for-dollar, available seller concessions may be used to reduce the buyer’s payment during the first two years when the loan and transaction qualify.
Do not position the lower first-year payment as the borrower’s permanent rate.
The mortgage note still carries the full note rate. The temporary subsidy pays the difference during the buydown period.
$800,000 purchase price.
≈ $1,010/month
≈ $18,300
Principal and interest only. Taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance and other housing expenses are not included. Example is educational and is not a rate quote.
We are using the same $800,000 buyer throughout the presentation.
- 5.75% P&I ≈ $4,435.15
- 6.75% P&I ≈ $4,929.35
- 7.75% P&I ≈ $5,444.73
- Total 2-1 subsidy ≈ $18,299.60
Payment examples calculated using standard fully amortizing 30-year principal-and-interest calculations.
Six-month payment relief.
Sometimes a buyer does not need two years of assistance. They simply want some breathing room after closing.
Move-in expenses
There is almost always something to buy once you get the keys.
Furniture
Preserve some monthly cash flow during the first six months.
Improvements
Create room in the budget for the things the buyer wants to change.
Adjustment period
Step into the new housing payment instead of absorbing the full change on day one.
This was one of the strategies in my original market presentation.
The point is not that six months is always better. It is one more lever we can evaluate based on the buyer’s goals.
What does six months actually save?
$260.19
$1,561.16
P&I only. Example does not include taxes, insurance or mortgage insurance.
Use this slide to demonstrate that we can customize the structure.
This example uses a 0.50 percentage-point payment reduction for six months from a 7.75% note-rate example.
Payment examples calculated using a $760,000, 30-year fully amortizing loan.
Permanently buy down the rate.
A lower rate can be valuable. But paying points only makes sense when the math makes sense.
Cost
Savings
Break-even
This is where I explain why I show multiple rates instead of simply quoting the lowest one.
Discount-point pricing changes with the market. Never hard-code the cost of a specific rate unless it comes from the current rate sheet.
Loan pricing varies by borrower, loan program, property and market conditions.
Payment difference first. Pricing second.
$260.19
Rate Cost ÷ $260.19
I intentionally did not put a point cost on the 7.25% example because that cost changes.
Tonight I can pull live pricing and fill it in if we want to demonstrate an actual scenario.
Payment calculations are mathematical examples only. Interest rate availability and discount-point pricing must come from current lender pricing.
Ask the seller to help solve the payment.
Buyers tend to think about negotiation as one thing: “How much can we get off the price?”
Sometimes the better question is: “How can we use the seller’s dollars to create the biggest impact?”
This is where Kelly’s negotiation and my financing strategy come together.
The seller concession has to be permitted by the loan program and cannot exceed applicable limits or actual allowable costs.
What could a $20,000 concession do?
This does not mean every borrower can receive a $20,000 concession or use all of it in this way.
The point is to demonstrate offer strategy. Once we know the loan program, I calculate exactly how much room we have and where it can be used.
Do not automatically put every dollar into the down payment.
More down payment reduces the loan amount. But that does not automatically mean it creates the strongest overall financial result.
More down
Smaller loan balance and potentially lower mortgage insurance.
Rate strategy
Use available funds to evaluate payment reduction instead.
Keep reserves
Homeownership comes with expenses after closing.
Compare the math
There is no universal answer. We model the options.
This slide is especially important for buyers who think every extra dollar should automatically go into the down payment.
Mortgage insurance, qualification and pricing can change the outcome, so the actual recommendation has to be borrower-specific.
Educational strategy slide. Actual down-payment and mortgage-insurance comparisons depend on the borrower and loan program.
What does another $40,000 down actually change?
| Option | Down Payment | Loan | Rate Example | P&I |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5% Down | $40,000 | $760,000 | 7.75% | $5,444.73 |
| 10% Down | $80,000 | $720,000 | 7.75% | $5,158.17 |
$40,000
$286.56/month
This comparison does not include mortgage insurance differences, taxes, insurance or potential loan-pricing changes.
Do not stop at this slide and say 5% down is better. It may not be.
PMI, pricing and borrower goals have to be added to the comparison. The teaching point is that we run the numbers instead of assuming.
Standard principal-and-interest calculations on 30-year loans at the illustrative 7.75% rate.
Choose your interest rate.
There is rarely one mortgage rate. There is usually a range of rates with different costs.
I want the buyer to see the trade-off instead of being handed one number.
This is the core of my Choose Your Interest Rate presentation.
The payment column can be calculated in advance. The cost/points column should be populated from current pricing.
Rate availability and costs depend on current lender pricing and borrower-specific loan characteristics.
Choose Your Interest Rate
| Rate | P&I | Rate Cost | Monthly Difference vs 7.75% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.875% | $4,992.66 | Live pricing | $452.07 |
| 7.000% | $5,056.30 | Live pricing | $388.43 |
| 7.125% | $5,120.26 | Live pricing | $324.47 |
| 7.250% | $5,184.54 | Live pricing | $260.19 |
| 7.375% | $5,249.13 | Live pricing | $195.60 |
| 7.500% | $5,314.03 | Live pricing | $130.70 |
| 7.750% | $5,444.73 | Live pricing | Baseline |
Payment examples are for education only and are not an offer or rate quote. Actual available rates, points and pricing depend on current market and borrower-specific factors.
Before presenting this slide to an actual buyer, replace “Live pricing” with the current discount-point cost for each rate and calculate break-even.
For tonight’s agent presentation, this demonstrates why rate conversations should include cost.
Payments calculated using standard fully amortizing 30-year principal-and-interest calculations.
Current loan pricing must be obtained from the lender at the time of presentation.
Your first mortgage does not have to be your last mortgage.
Buying today does not mean keeping today’s mortgage forever.
Does the payment work today?
If the market improves later, does a refinance make financial sense?
Do not promise a refinance.
I want the loan to work today. If the market later produces an opportunity, then we calculate it.
No future-rate prediction or refinance guarantee is being made.
What would a future opportunity look like?
| Rate Example | Approx. P&I | Difference vs 7.75% |
|---|---|---|
| 7.75% | $5,444.73 | Current example |
| 7.00% | $5,056.30 | $388.43/mo |
| 6.75% | $4,929.35 | $515.38/mo |
| 6.50% | $4,803.72 | $641.01/mo |
| 6.25% | $4,679.45 | $765.28/mo |
Hypothetical future-rate examples only. No prediction that these rates will become available.
I like this better than simply saying “you can refinance later.”
It teaches agents how I think: What is the monthly savings? What does the transaction cost? What is the break-even?
Illustrative payment calculations only. This slide does not forecast future interest rates.
What do we say when buyers are afraid of the rate?
We do not argue with the fear.
We slow the decision down, separate the rate from the entire transaction, and give the buyer numbers they can evaluate.
The next slides are designed for Kelly’s agents to use almost verbatim.
The goal is not to “overcome” a buyer. The goal is to help them make a decision with better information.
Conversation framework. No external source required.
Agent goal: do not immediately defend the market. Ask for the mortgage analysis.
“Let me have Lara run the numbers” should be an easy next step.
Conversation framework. No market prediction is included.
This keeps the agent out of predicting appreciation and keeps me out of predicting mortgage rates.
We take the buyer’s concern seriously and quantify it.
No prediction of future home prices or mortgage rates is made.
You do not have to time the market perfectly.
You need a plan for the market you are in.
The property + negotiation
Find the right home and structure the strongest real estate strategy.
The mortgage + numbers
Build the financing strategy around the buyer’s goals, cash and payment.
Before a buyer decides today’s market does not work for them, let’s find out what the numbers actually say.
Educational presentation only. Loan programs, rates, costs and eligibility are subject to borrower qualification, property eligibility, program requirements and market conditions.
Close with partnership.
The agent does not need to become the mortgage expert. Their job is to recognize the concern and bring me into the conversation so we can model the options together.
Final summary slide.