GROW WITH LIBERTAS & EXP REALTY
By Tim & Julie Harris · October 1, 2026
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Walt and Denise had lived in their four-bedroom colonial for 31 years. When the agent sat down with them, Walt got right to it: "We want this to be our last move. Something small, one level, low maintenance." He was 68, and he'd brought a printed list of condos. Denise poured the coffee, let him finish, then smiled: "He's planning to slow down, but I'm planning a business." She sold quilting patterns online and needed a studio.
They sold the colonial in nine days for $615,000 and bought a walk-out rambler (a one-story ranch) with room for both of them. At closing, Walt said, "I came in planning our last move, but I think we bought the one before that." You're going to meet a lot more Walts and Denises.
People are living longer, working longer, and passing more money to their kids than any generation before them. That means more moves, more buyers, and more listings for the agent who asks the right questions.
Today we walk through where all that family money is actually showing up, the three ways it buys homes, the low-rate mortgage your sellers may be sitting on without knowing it, and the creative structures that let you stop waiting for interest rates to rescue you.
The wealth transfer isn't coming. It's already here.
An estimated $124 trillion is expected to pass to the next generation by 2048. Coaching clients are already reporting deals that trace straight back to it. The figures cited on the show:
27% of existing homes sold in August 2026 were bought with all cash.
39% of homeowners have no mortgage at all (Census Bureau), up from 34% ten years ago.
Repeat buyers put down a median of 23%, the highest since 2003 (NAR).
40% of homeowners got help with the down payment on their current home, up from 35% in 2023. For Gen Z, it's nearly 80%.
Fresh liquidity is stacking on top of inherited money: the June SpaceX IPO minted thousands of new employee millionaires, roughly 400 of them with stakes worth $100 million or more, and many live in Texas hubs like Austin and the Rio Grande Valley.
Boomers aren't downsizing the way the old playbook says
The traditional pattern was simple: get older, downsize to a condo. Many baby boomers aren't following it. They're so equity-rich that at the ages when people used to trade down, they're buying nicer houses, sometimes bigger ones, because that's where the grandkids will visit. A lot of them have also inherited money of their own that's compounding. The housing trends of 20 or 30 years ago aren't necessarily holding, because the economics of so many buyers and sellers have changed.
Not every lender is a mortgage company
An agent in coaching closed four buyer deals last week. Three were funded, in part, by Bank of Mom and Dad or Bank of Grandma and Grandpa. For a lot of your buyers, the lender isn't only the mortgage company, and the money shows up three ways:
All cash. Kids or grandkids buy outright, so the rate doesn't matter. These are mostly buyers in their 30s and 40s, not 20-somethings.
A bigger down payment. A smaller loan means a lower payment, and on a conventional loan, putting 20% or more down removes mortgage insurance. One coaching client's deal last week had 50% down.
Buying down the rate. Gift money goes toward closing costs, including points. Have the lender confirm the gift-fund rules, because they vary by loan type.
The assumable mortgage hiding in your sellers' pockets
Consider a seller who bought during the pandemic and has been paying on a loan around 2-3%. Say the balance is $500,000 and the house is now worth $650,000. A qualified buyer can assume that $500,000 at the seller's low rate and make up the difference in cash, so the seller is made whole. The buyer still has to qualify (income, ratios, down payment), and the seller walks away with their equity.
Heads up on loan types: FHA, VA, and USDA loans are generally assumable with lender approval, while most conventional loans carry due-on-sale clauses. Check the note before you promise anything.
Why it matters: ask a seller how much more valuable their house is if they can tell buyers, "You can take over my 2.5% loan." Few agents are having that conversation, and it also gives a hesitant seller more options: keep it as a rental, or sell it with the low-rate loan attached.
Don't wait for rates to fall. Engineer the payment.
Say a family member gifts money toward a $500,000 purchase. Instead of simply hitting the minimum down payment, the buyer can put more down to shrink the loan and avoid mortgage insurance, direct part of the gift toward points to buy the rate down, or split it between the two.
The goal isn't just to qualify for the loan. It's to afford the payment. Don't be the agent who hangs up the spurs because it's that time of year, or waits for someone to tap them on the shoulder when rates finally fall. Learn how deals are actually being done right now.
Forty percent of homeowners own free and clear. That's a seller-financing lane.
Nearly 40% of homeowners have no mortgage. Many of them don't need all their equity pulled out on closing day, and some are already planning to park the proceeds in Treasuries.
Here's how the conversation can go. Suppose the house is worth $500,000 and the seller owns it free and clear.
"Mr. Seller, what are you planning to do with the proceeds? Treasuries at around 5%? What if you were the bank instead? We'd charge a qualified buyer 8% to 8.5%, require $50,000 to $100,000 down, and you'd collect the monthly payment while the buyer pays their own taxes."
The buyer is often someone who has a harder time getting a conventional loan, like a self-employed buyer. If they stop paying, the seller can foreclose like any lender, keeping the interest paid and the down payment, and getting the property back. A version where the seller holds a second mortgage works too, with more risk.
Important: this must be structured with a real estate attorney, with documents handled through your title company. Rules on rates, licensing, and disclosure vary by state. Premier Coaching walks through the full process.
Smart buyers are already thinking this way
A coaching-client agent in a high-inventory mountain market reported a buyer who'd been on the fence for months. With rates hovering around 7% and plenty of homes to choose from, the buyer realized there was less competition, so it was the time to find the best home and negotiate. The down payment? Gift money.
A smart, savvy agent says what a smart, savvy buyer is already thinking, and they find each other.
Coming soon: your trained AI real estate team
Related preview. Tim and Julie are working to get the Harris AI Real Estate Team live as soon as possible: a pre-trained team of AI specialists, led by one coordinator, that takes the grind work off your plate. Watch this newsletter for the release announcement and access details inside Premier Coaching.
What to do this week
Five concrete moves:
One: ask the funding question early. With every buyer, ask whether any family money is in play, and how. Don't assume the mortgage company is the only lender.
Two: find your low-rate sellers. Pull past clients and listings with pandemic-era loans at 2-3%. Learn which are FHA, VA, or USDA, and start the assumable-mortgage conversation.
Three: find a lender who knows gift funds, buydowns, and assumptions. One standing relationship is worth more than another lead source.
Four: identify your free-and-clear owners. About 40% of homeowners qualify. Start owner-financing conversations, with an attorney involved.
Five: get the playbooks. Premier Coaching has the full systems for creative structures, seller financing, and the Real Plan. $1 trial at premiercoaching.com.
The bottom line
Walt walked in planning his last move and walked out having bought the one before it. That's the market now: more money moving between generations, more homeowners with no mortgage, and more buyers whose real lender is family.
Interest rates matter less than the payment, and the payment can be engineered. Gift funds, rate buydowns, assumable loans, and seller financing are all legitimate tools that most agents aren't using. Be the agent who asks the right questions. Get to work.
Ready to stop guessing and start producing?
🎯 Start Premier Coaching (free trial): premiercoaching.com
💼 Build wealth with Tim's eXp team: whylibertas.com/harris
📲 Elite Coaching — text Tim directly: 512-758-0206
If you asked every buyer and seller the "who's funding this?" question this week, how many deals sitting in your pipeline would look completely different?
— Tim & Julie Harris
Founders of Tim & Julie Harris Real Estate Coaching | Publishers of Harris Real Estate Daily | Hosts of PowerHouseTalk | eXp Realty Sponsors at Libertas
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