SCALE WITH LIBERTAS & EXP REALTY
By Tim & Julie Harris · October 7, 2026
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Rates are hovering around 7%, nobody's buying, and the market is dead. Well, tell that to the one in four buyers who paid all cash last summer. While you wait for rates to drop, another agent is selling homes to people who never even asked what the rate was. The market isn't dead. You're just calling the wrong people. Today we walk through who the rate-proof buyers are: cash buyers who never left, adult children whose parents are the bank, buyers funding down payments with stock, and new wealth landing in markets like Austin. We also cover the networking moves that put you in front of them and the script for the buyer who says they're waiting for rates to fall.
Do the math before you call the market dead
There will be roughly 4.5 to 5 million home sales this year, including new construction. The average sale price is north of $400,000, and there are two sides to every transaction. Please don't tell Tim and Julie there isn't opportunity everywhere.
Here's your homework: go to your MLS and find out how many actual closings happened in the last 60 days, then do the math on how much money was made. If you're not making that money, it isn't because the market isn't doing what it's supposed to do. It's slower than three or four years ago, granted, but transactions are still happening.
Optimize for optimism
Pessimism compounds. Listen to the gloomy newscast, read the gloomy forum, talk to the gloomy people, and you've dug yourself a deep emotional hole. Tim and Julie's mantra right now is "optimize for optimism": tune out the noise and tune into who is actually buying.
1. Cash buyers never left
About 25% of June home sales were all cash, a national figure. Some trackers have put the share even higher earlier this year. Local numbers can run well above that, especially at higher price points. In Redfin's March data, 51.1% of purchases in both Cleveland and West Palm Beach were all cash.
Repeat buyers are even stronger. 30% of repeat buyers paid cash, and the rest put down more than 20%, with a median of 23%. The median age of a repeat buyer is 62.
That points to a generational shift. The traditional cycle was first home, a few move-ups, then downsizing at a certain age. Many baby boomers aren't downsizing into condos. They're moving up or buying second homes, because they can now afford not to downsize.
2. Mom and Dad are the bank
27% of Gen Z homeowners and 24% of millennials got help from their parents with the down payment. If you're crying "affordability" and "nobody can come up with a down payment," you're missing who is actually lending. More than half of that help came as a loan or partial loan, not a gift.
Why a loan instead of a gift? Some families lend at the IRS minimum rate for tax reasons, and whether the loan is ever repaid or gets recast varies. That's a conversation for the family's CPA or attorney, not you. What you're seeing is a wealth transfer, and much of it is flowing while the parents are still alive. They want to see their kids enjoy it, and it's good estate planning.
Add these questions to your buyer conversations:
First-time buyers: "Will you be getting any additional help with your down payment?" It's a completely appropriate question today, with prices still inching up, not falling.
Older buyers: "Have you considered the benefit of a larger down payment?" Many buyers are borrowing from parents, or from their own portfolios. A larger down payment makes it easier to qualify, can get rid of PMI, and some of it can go to buying down points for a better rate.
Know the rules on gift money, and know where the cash comes from. If a buyer is truly paying all cash, the source matters less. If the money is borrowed, such as against a stock portfolio or through a second mortgage on a commercial property, that creates a debt obligation that can change their ratios. Have the loan officer confirm the details.
3. The stock market is a down payment
26% of first-time buyers used stocks, a 401(k), or other investments for their down payment (NAR profile), and one in five prospective buyers expect to sell stocks in order to buy.
New wealth is also landing in specific markets. The June SpaceX IPO created more than 4,400 employee millionaires, with nearly 400 holding stakes worth $100 million or more. Many of these current and former employees live in Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley and around Austin, and local agents expect demand for higher-end homes, investment properties, and second homes.
The timing matters. Employees generally can't sell their shares right away, so some are waiting for lock-up periods to end while others plan to buy sooner with margin loans. Austin's luxury market had softened over the past three to four years, and Tim's take is that a listing that looks overpriced today may not look that way once this money starts moving. If you work a market where new wealth lands, tune into what these buyers need. Some would rather borrow against their holdings than sell them. Leave the tax questions to the pros.
4. Network where the money talks first
CPAs, wealth advisers, and estate attorneys know about a windfall long before the client calls an agent. You don't need to play the tax expert. Just say: "I don't know, but I do know who does." Those professionals belong in your center of influence, because they know about all this wealth creation. You may need to upgrade your CPA connections and network with the people who serve high-net-worth clients, whether the wealth is new or not.
5. Why luxury is different
The fastest-growing segment of home sales right now is luxury, by the figures cited on the show. Tim and Julie's coaching clients in big markets say the price appreciation is concentrated at the upper end, not on the low end.
High-net-worth buyers aren't looking for fixer-uppers. They want turnkey. They have enough money that they might overpay in your mind, but they want it done with no hassle. If you have luxury listings, get them fixed up before you go to market.
6. Play the yes game
Rate-proof buyers show up at charity galas, hospital and school foundation fundraisers, and symphony, museum, and theater events, especially around the holidays. The yes game is saying yes to those invitations, even if you aren't used to going. It upgrades your center of influence and puts you around people who aren't interest-rate sensitive.
Use the FORD script from Premier Coaching to let real estate come up organically, and ask what they're most curious about: buying, selling, investing, maybe adding to a vacation-rental portfolio. You find these buyers by going where they go.
Bonus: interest rates aren't everything
You can help buyers buy the rate down, and you can educate them on what the payment would actually be. That's a competitive advantage. If you're at a holiday party and someone says they're waiting for rates to fall:
"That's interesting. A lot of people are saying the same thing. But Mr. Buyer, even if rates fall, if homes are more expensive next year, your payment is the same, isn't it? If there were a way to buy a house now without waiting for rates to fall, would you be interested in hearing about that?"
They'll say yes. Then you explain how to buy the rate down with some of the down payment money, whether it comes from the bank of mom and dad or their stock portfolio. It can cost a lot less than you'd think, and creative financing is the secret sauce.
The same logic works for sellers. "If there were a way for you to sell this house now, maximize the return on your investment, and move that money into the house you really want, with your payment staying roughly the same as it is now, would that change your plans to wait for rates to fall?" They all say yes.
Knowledge equals confidence
Knowledge equals confidence. Ignorance equals fear. If you feel any fear, optimize for optimism and get educated. Premier Coaching has the buyer questionnaire, the gift-fund conversations, and the scripts above. $1 for a 7-day trial at premiercoaching.com.
What to do this week
Five concrete moves:
One: do the MLS homework. Count the closings in your whole MLS over the last 60 days and do the commission math.
Two: add the down-payment-help question to your buyer questionnaire. Ask first-time buyers about help, ask older buyers about a larger down payment, and loop in the lender on gift-fund rules.
Three: add a CPA, wealth adviser, or estate attorney to your center of influence. Book one coffee this week.
Four: say yes to three events before year-end. Pick a gala, a foundation fundraiser, or a symphony, museum, or theater evening, and use the FORD script.
Five: rehearse the "waiting for rates to fall" script before your next holiday party, for both buyers and sellers.
The bottom line
The market isn't dead. Roughly one in four buyers pays all cash, parents are lending down payments, stock portfolios are funding offers, and new wealth is landing in markets like Austin. None of those buyers is waiting on the Fed.
You're just calling the wrong people. Optimize for optimism, get educated on how deals are actually being done, and go where the rate-proof buyers go. Get to work.
Ready to stop guessing and start producing?
🎯 Start Premier Coaching (free trial): premiercoaching.com
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📲 Elite Coaching — text Tim directly: 512-758-0206
If you spent this holiday season at the charity gala instead of waiting for rates to drop, how many rate-proof buyers would already know your name by January?
— 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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