GROW WITH LIBERTAS & EXP REALTY
By Tim & Julie Harris · October 29, 2026
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Your buyer sits across from you and says, “Rates are too high. We’re going to wait.” Most agents nod and say, “Okay, I’ll keep an eye on it.” And that buyer walks out knowing about exactly one option: the 30-year fixed at today’s rate.
Here’s the truth: there are many ways to a better rate, and most buyers only know about one. The agent who puts every option on one page, with real payments, is the agent who writes the offer.
Rates dipped, and more buyers are choosing adjustable rates
Freddie Mac’s 30-year average fell to 7.32% on October 22, and adjustable-rate loans are now their biggest share of mortgage applications in a year, RISMedia reported. Buyers are already shopping for a lower payment, not just a lower rate.
“Rates came down a little this week, and there’s more than one way to a better payment. Can I show you three options side by side?”
Luxury buyers are using what they have, and so can your move-up sellers
In Coldwell Banker Global Luxury’s 2026 mid-year report, 63% of its luxury specialists said all-cash purchases are increasing. The wealthiest buyers aren’t waiting on rates. They’re using their wealth. Your everyday move-up sellers have wealth too: equity. It can be their down payment, their bridge to the next home or their way to make an offer that looks like cash.
Call your past clients who bought five or more years ago and give them their equity number. “Most people have no idea how much equity they have. Want me to run the number for you?”
Big investors are stepping back, and that opens the door for first-time buyers
Realtor.com found that investor home purchases in the first half of 2026 were the lowest for a first half since 2020, Real Estate News reported on October 21. Fewer cash investors means less competition for your first-time buyers, especially on starter homes.
“Investors are buying fewer homes than they have in years. That means less cash competition for you. Let’s find the payment that works, and let’s go win one.”
Build a one-page “payment options” sheet
Buyers don’t buy rates. They buy payments. So show them every way to a payment they’re comfortable with. Here are the options in plain English, on a $400,000 loan. At this week’s 7.32%, the 30-year fixed payment is about $2,748 a month in principal and interest.
Option 1: An adjustable-rate mortgage (5/6 or 7/6 ARM).
The rate is fixed for the first 5 or 7 years, then it adjusts every 6 months. That’s what the “6” means.
Say it this way: “You get a lower rate for the first five or seven years. After that it can go up or down, but only within limits written into your loan.” Those limits are called caps. Ask your lender for the exact caps on every quote.
At about 6.46%, the payment is about $2,518, roughly $230 a month less for the first five years.
Always show the worst case too. If the rate rose the most it could at the first adjustment, the payment would be about $3,000.
It makes sense for a buyer who expects to move or refinance within the fixed period. It doesn’t make sense for a buyer who would lose sleep if the payment changed.
Option 2: A seller-paid temporary buydown.
The seller pays at closing to lower the buyer’s rate for the first year or two, and then it settles at the full rate.
On a 2-1 buydown, the first-year payment is about $2,226 and the second year about $2,481. The seller’s cost is about $9,500.
The buyer still qualifies at the full rate.
Option 3: A permanent buydown.
Points paid at closing lower the rate for the life of the loan.
Divide the cost by the monthly savings to see how many months it takes to break even. If your buyer will keep the loan longer than that, it can beat a temporary buydown.
Option 4: Lender credits and seller concessions.
A lender credit is the opposite of points. A slightly higher rate, and the lender pays some closing costs. It’s great for a buyer who’s short on cash.
Seller concessions can cover closing costs or a buydown, up to each loan program’s limit. Have your lender confirm the limit before you write the offer.
Option 5: Buying before selling.
A HELOC on the current home, opened before it’s listed.
A bridge loan or a buy-before-you-sell program. Compare the costs carefully.
Why it matters: a move-up buyer without a sale contingency competes like a cash buyer, and you get both sides of the move.
Option 6: Seller financing, carefully.
It can work for a seller who owns the home free and clear. If the seller still has a mortgage, most loans can be called due on a sale. Bring in a real estate attorney and a licensed loan originator before anyone signs.
Now build the sheet. Sit down with your favorite lender this week and put today’s fixed rate, an ARM, a 2-1 buydown, a permanent buydown and a lender credit on one page, with both your names and faces on it. Your AI Business Bot can lay it out, but every number comes from your lender.
When your buyer says, “We’re going to wait”
Buyer: “Rates are too high. We’re going to wait.”
Agent: “That makes sense, and I’d never want you in a payment you’re not comfortable with. What payment would feel comfortable?”
Buyer: “Something closer to $2,300 a month.”
Agent: “At this week’s rate, a $400,000 loan is about $2,750. But that’s only one option. If the seller pays for a 2-1 buydown, your first-year payment is about $2,225. With an adjustable rate, it’s about $2,520 for the first five years. Here’s my lender’s sheet with all of them side by side.”
Buyer: “What if the adjustable rate goes way up?”
Agent: “Great question. Here’s the worst case, in writing, before you decide. On a scale of 1 to 10, how comfortable would you feel with one of these options?”
Buyer: “Maybe a 6.”
Agent: “What would it take to get you to a 10? Let’s get you 15 minutes with my lender so you can fully pre-qualify and see which one fits.”
The moral of the story: “we’ll wait” usually means “nobody showed me another way.” Our buyer pre-qualification script and the Buyer Presentation, both part of Premier Coaching, are built for exactly this conversation.
Here’s the math
Say 20 buyers in your database told you they’re waiting. If just three of them buy in the next 90 days at a $10,000 average commission, that’s $30,000.
Nobody called my new leads back. Should I move on?
Not yet. Look at the thought behind the question first.
Notice what you’re telling yourself. “Nobody calls back, so they’re not interested.” Is that true, or is it just how it feels after two calls?
Swap it for a more accurate thought. A lead can take months to turn into a client, and it often takes six or more attempts just to reach someone. Two calls is the very beginning.
Plan the next four touches. Mix calls, texts and a useful property alert.
Ask yourself, “Would I tell a client to quit after two tries?” Give yourself the same coaching. Persistence is the real work of real estate.
Didn’t adjustable-rate mortgages cause 2008?
The loans that hurt people in 2008 aren’t the loans we have today.
Back then, many buyers got loans without proving their income, on teaser payments they couldn’t afford.
Today, lenders have to verify the buyer can repay, and buyers qualify above the starting rate.
And every ARM has caps in writing.
Say this: “An ARM isn’t risky because it’s an ARM. It’s risky if you don’t know your worst-case payment. Let’s look at that number together.”
Is a $10,000 price cut better than a buydown?
Show your seller the payment math.
A $10,000 price cut lowers the buyer’s payment by only about $69 a month.
About the same money in a 2-1 buydown lowers the first-year payment by about $520 a month. Buyers feel that.
Ask, “Mr. Seller, would you rather lower your price, or keep your price and make the payment easier?” Check your MLS rules and your broker before you advertise any rate or payment.
My move-up sellers want to buy first. What do I tell them?
Help them buy like a cash buyer.
Open a HELOC before they list.
Compare bridge loans and buy-before-you-sell programs with your lender.
Ask, “Would you be willing to move twice?” A short-term rental can beat a contingent offer that loses.
Then list their home well. Our 180-day seller communication plan in Premier Coaching keeps them informed every step.
What about Canada?
A seller asked about carrying a vendor take-back mortgage. It can work, but proceed carefully.
The seller lends part of the price to the buyer, usually as a second mortgage, and takes on the risk if the buyer doesn’t pay.
Get both sides to their own lawyers, and talk to the buyer’s mortgage broker, because the first-mortgage lender has to approve it.
Your role: bring the idea, then bring the professionals.
Rates are one number. Payments are a whole menu. Be the agent who shows your buyers the menu.
Your challenge this week: Build your payment options sheet with your lender and send it to 20 buyers who said they’re waiting, then call every one of them. Email us how many said, “I didn’t know we could do that.”
Want someone in your corner holding you to it? Join Premier Coaching at https://premiercoaching.com/. Try it for 7 days for just $1.
Tim and Julie Harris are internationally recognized real estate coaches, best-selling authors and the voices behind Real Estate Coaching Radio, the nation’s #1 daily podcast for real estate professionals.
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— 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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