09/14/2026
Everybody is staring at the rate.
I get it. I hear it every week: "We're going to wait until rates come down."
Maybe they will. That's not the part that keeps me up.
The part that keeps me up is this: if rates drop and a pile of sidelined buyers all rush back in at the same time, what happens to your negotiating power? What happens to the price you actually pay for the house?
A few years ago you could get a payment that looked almost too good. You also had twelve people in the driveway, waived inspections, and offers written like a bidding war at an auction. You weren't buying a house. You were winning a fight.
That's not the market we're in around here.
Texas Real Estate Research Center numbers from mid-year tell a quieter story. Statewide, sellers had about 153,800 homes listed at the end of June — roughly a 5.4-month supply. Homes that sold sat about 62 days. The typical seller had already cut about $12,000 off the original ask. Austin prices were still running a couple points under the year before.
That's not a crash. That's a market where the buyer finally has a chair at the table.
More houses to look at. More time to think. Price cuts. Seller help with closing costs. Repair credits. Room to talk about a temporary rate buydown instead of just hammering the list price. Fewer "we need your highest and best by 5 o'clock."
That leverage is worth something. Sometimes it's worth more than the rate you're waiting on.
Here's how I talk to buyers before they write an offer.
Don't just ask, "What's the lowest they'll take?" Ask the whole question:
Can they come off the price?
Can they contribute to allowable closing costs?
Can that money buy down the rate for a year or two so the payment works now?
Are there repairs they don't want to touch?
Is keeping your cash more valuable than another small price cut?
Is the seller sitting on two houses?
The list price is what they hope for. It is not automatically what they'll take.
Your Realtor should be reading the listing — days on market, prior cuts, vacant house, failed contract, two-house seller. Your lender should be in that same conversation before the offer goes out, not three days before closing when somebody says "the seller will give you $10,000… now what do we do with it?"
Ten thousand dollars is not ten thousand dollars for every buyer. On one file it belongs in the price. On another it belongs in closing costs. On another it belongs in a buydown so the first two years don't squeeze you. That's the work. That's why the three of us — you, the agent, and me — should sit down before anyone starts typing an offer.
One more thing I tell people who are waiting for the "perfect" rate:
You may be able to refinance the loan later.
You cannot refinance what you paid for the house.
I've been through four slowdowns in this business. The market that looks obvious in hindsight is usually the one people talked themselves out of while they waited for a number on a chart.
If you're looking for a new home right now and you want a second set of eyes on the house and the financing before you write the offer — call me. We'll look at the property, your cash, what the seller might actually do, and what structure helps you the most.
The job isn't just to get you a loan.
It's to help you make a smart buy.
Stephen Steakley
The Steakley Team at CrossCountry Mortgage
www.ccm.com/stephen-steakley
[email protected]
512-577-8898
NMLS #274124
Equal Housing Lender. This is general market commentary, not a rate quote or a commitment to lend.
Get in touch with Stephen Steakley, to help you buy a home or refinance in Cedar Park, TX.
