30-Year Mortgage Rate (Freddie Mac PMMS)

6.55% holding near 11-month highs

Daily rate (MND)

6.68% Iran/oil pressure holding rates up

What that means on a $400K loan (P&I)

~$2,541/mo ↓ ~$53/mo vs. a year ago

June median home sale price (NAR)

$440,600 all-time record, +1.8% YoY

Housing Affordability Index (NAR)

102.3 up from 95.5 a year ago

🚨 Heads up: TWO big rate movers this week

TODAY at 10 AM ET: June New Home Sales report drops (4 hours after this hits your inbox). Wednesday July 29 at 2 PM ET: FOMC decision. First rate call under Warsh in his second meeting as Chair. Market pricing 90% hold, but the statement language and press conference will move rates either way.

Source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), week ending 7/16/2026. Daily rate from Mortgage News Daily. Median price and affordability data from the National Association of REALTORS® June 2026 Existing-Home Sales Report, released 7/9/2026. Rates shown are national averages for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and do not represent a personal rate quote or offer to lend. Payment example assumes a $400,000 loan amount, 30-year fixed term, 20% down payment, and does not include taxes, insurance, or PMI. Your actual rate, payment, and costs may vary based on your financial profile. Rate ≠ APR. Not all applicants will qualify.

Call: Active buyer who hasn't been asking for seller concessions (data-first)

"Hey [name], quick call because the numbers moved in your favor and I want to make sure we are using them. Two things you should know before we write our next offer. One, sellers right now are agreeing to concessions we have not seen in three years. Three percent on the purchase price is realistic to ask for on the right house. Two, my lender can turn a three percent concession into a lower rate that saves you around $300 to $500 a month. That is real money in your pocket every single month. On our next offer, I want to write it with a concession ask baked in. Can I get 20 minutes with you this week to walk through what that looks like on the two homes you have been thinking about?"

Call: Owner planning to list this fall who wants to price high (curiosity-pivot)

"Hey [name], can I ask you something before we sit down and talk about a list price? What is the number in your head that you feel like you have to hit for this to be worth it? I ask because I am seeing the same story play out on almost every listing right now. Homes priced correctly out of the gate are getting offers in the first 10 to 20 days. Homes that start 5 to 10 percent above the real market number sit for 60 days and then take a price cut anyway, and by the time we sell it we are usually below where we would have been on day one. Before we pick a number, I want to make sure we are picking it based on where today's buyer actually is, not where last spring's buyer was. Coffee this weekend so I can walk you through the last 20 comps in your neighborhood?"

[name], remember the house on [street] we lost in 2024? Different market today. Fewer buyers competing. Sellers agreeing to concessions we could not get last year. If you would still buy the right home if the numbers made sense, I want to walk you through what has changed. 20 minutes this weekend?

[name], if your rent just went up again at renewal, worth knowing. My lender can show you exactly what a mortgage payment looks like on a comparable house right now, and with the seller concessions we can ask for in this market, that number is a lot lower than it was six months ago. Coffee this month and I will bring the numbers?

[name], you may have noticed [address] a few doors down has been on the market for a while. Not a comment on the house. It was priced above where today's buyer is willing to go. If you are thinking about listing this fall, I want to make sure we do not make the same mistake. Coffee this month?

[name], your name came up because I was talking to a client about a big renovation this week. Two questions worth answering before you spend that money. What is your house actually worth today? And could that same budget be a down payment on the house that already has what you are trying to build? I can pull both numbers this week. Worth 20 min?

Play 1: The Concession Buydown Play (every active buyer)

Sellers who need to move are agreeing to real concessions again. Your buyer should be asking for 3 percent of the purchase price on the right property. Here is why that number matters. On a $400K purchase, a 3 percent concession is $12,000. That $12K can permanently lower the rate by roughly 1.5 percent, cutting the monthly payment by around $380. Or it can fund a 2-1 temporary buydown that saves $500 a month in Year 1, $250 a month in Year 2, and gives your buyer a full 3 years to plan around the true payment.

Your play: Every active buyer gets a call this weekend. Tell them we are writing our next offer with a concession ask built in. Send me the address and I will run the exact buydown math for that price point. You bring me the offer strategy, I bring you the payment numbers.

Play 2: The Price-Right-First-Time Play (every future seller)

Priced-right listings in desirable areas are still getting offers in 10 to 20 days. Priced-wrong listings sit for 60 days and then take a cut anyway, usually landing below where they would have been on day one. The market is not the problem. The number is the problem. Sellers overshoot because they hear the record median price and think their house should test that ceiling. Wrong move. The seller who prices correctly out of the gate wins Q3.

Your play: Every listing appointment coming up gets the same conversation. Walk them through the last 20 comps in their zip code, show them the price-to-days-on-market pattern, and price it based on where today's buyer is. Not last spring. Not the neighbor's Zillow number. Today's real buyer.

Home prices hit a record last month. So a lot of people are giving up on buying this year.

Here is the part nobody is putting on the news. Fewer buyers are actively shopping right now than in the spring. Sellers who need to move are agreeing to real concessions again. On a typical purchase, that money can be used to permanently lower the buyer's monthly payment by hundreds of dollars.

Your neighbor who bought in 2024 could not do this. You can. The math is different than it was 12 months ago.

If you have been sitting on the fence, message me. 20 minutes, my lender in the room, real numbers on what your actual payment could look like with a smart offer strategy. Not a sales call. A numbers call.

Market Note — July 24, 2026

Quick note if you are thinking about buying or selling in the next 6 months. The story right now is different than the news is telling you.

If you are thinking about selling: The median home sale price hit an all-time record of $440,600 in June. That is real. But the homes that are selling in 10 to 20 days are the ones priced correctly out of the gate, not the ones testing the ceiling. Homes priced 5 to 10 percent above the real market number are sitting for 60 days and taking a cut anyway. If you want to be under contract quickly and at the right price, the number matters more than ever.

If you are thinking about buying: The market has shifted in your favor. Fewer buyers are shopping than in the spring, so you have less competition. Sellers who need to move are agreeing to concessions we have not seen in 3 years. My lender can turn those concessions into real monthly savings on your payment. Your neighbor who bought in 2024 did not get this deal. You can.

Either way, hit reply and let me know what you are thinking. 20 minutes, real numbers, no pressure.

This is a general market overview based on national averages from the National Association of REALTORS® June 2026 Existing-Home Sales Report and the Freddie Mac PMMS® week ending 7/16/2026. Not an offer to lend and not a personal home valuation. Cole Brantley, NMLS# 1905939. Mpire Financial, NMLS# 2108504. Equal Housing Lender.

1. ChatGPT Skills. Reusable workflows you build once.

What it is: Skills let you teach ChatGPT how you specifically do a task. Upload 3 to 5 of your best listing descriptions, tell it "this is my writing style, save this as a skill called Listing Description," and from now on you just say "run my Listing Description skill on this house" and it copies your voice. No more re-explaining your format every time. No more copy-pasting the same 3-paragraph prompt.

Real agent uses: Save a skill for MLS listing descriptions in your voice. Save a skill for post-showing follow-up emails. Save a skill for weekly market update texts to sphere. Save a skill for offer cover letters. Every recurring writing task you do becomes a one-word prompt.

2. The new Plugin Directory. Third-party tools inside ChatGPT.

What it is: ChatGPT can now talk to outside services directly. Instead of copy-pasting Zillow data into your prompt, you can install a plugin that lets ChatGPT pull the data itself. It is the same idea as a browser add-on but for AI. The Plugin Directory replaced the old App Directory this month and the catalog is growing fast.

Real agent uses: Plugins that connect ChatGPT to Google Drive so it can pull your listing checklist. Plugins that connect to Calendly so it can offer showing times inside a client email draft. Plugins that connect to Canva so it can build a market report graphic from a conversation. The workflows that used to take you 4 tabs now happen in one place.

🍽 Next Lunch & Leads

ChatGPT for Listings

Thursday, July 30 at 12 PM ET. Live walkthrough of the new ChatGPT Skills and Plugin Directory, plus how to build your first Listing Skill and generate MLS-ready descriptions in your voice. Bring lunch. Free to join.

Grab Your Seat →

This week's question

"On what date does the FOMC announce its next rate decision?"

Text the answer to

(813) 579-8812

First 5 correct answers before 12:00 PM ET today win. One entry per agent.

1. Reach out to me first

Text, email, or call me with the client's info and any notes about their situation. More context up front means better first conversation.

2. Introduce us in a 3-way text

Example: "Hey [name], this is Cole Brantley, the mortgage broker I told you about. He's going to reach out to set up a time to talk through your options."

3. I take it from there

I reach out 7 times over 4 days with calls and texts to set a consultation. After every conversation, you get a recap of where things stand and what's next.

4. Long-term follow-up (no one gets forgotten)

If the client doesn't respond after the first week, they move to biweekly follow-up from my call center team. No lead dropped. Lower-intent client? Just note it up front and we match whatever cadence you want.

🧠 Weird Stat of the Week

The typical U.S. homeowner has gained roughly $128,000 in housing wealth over the past 6 years, per NAR. Most of them have no idea what that means for their next move. That is 128,000 conversations you can have with 128,000 individual homeowners in your database. Pick one. Start with them.