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📊 Every Friday at 6 AM
The Friday Rate Sheet
The rates + the scripts + the texts. Every Friday.
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#3 · MARCH 6, 2026
The headlines are scary. Oil is up. Rates bounced. Your clients are watching the same news you are. This is the week they need a calm voice, not silence.
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This Week's Numbers
Source: Freddie Mac PMMS® · Week ending 3/4/2026
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30-Year Mortgage Rate (weekly avg)
6.00% ↑ 0.02% from last Friday
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What the weekly average doesn't show
Daily rates hit 6.13% mid-week ↑ after U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran
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10-Year Treasury (CNBC)
4.13% ↑ was 3.97% before the conflict started
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Still saving vs. one year ago (6.63%)
~$164/mo less ~$1,972/yr on a $400K loan
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⚠️ February Jobs Report drops this morning at 8:30 AM ET. This could move rates today.
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Source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), week ending 3/4/2026. Rates shown are national weekly averages for a conforming 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and do not represent a personal rate quote or offer to lend. Daily rate referenced from Yahoo Finance/Bankrate reporting. 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. Rate ≠ APR.
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Your Scripts & Texts for This Week
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🗣️ For Calls & Meetings
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What to Say to a Buyer
"[Name], I know a lot of people are saying they should wait right now. And honestly, I get it. The news is intense. But here's what I'd be thinking about if I were in your shoes. Rates bumped up a little this week because of oil prices and what's happening overseas. But even with that move, you're still paying significantly less per month than you would have a year ago on the same home. The real question isn't where rates go next week. It's what happens to your competition when they go lower. More buyers flood back in, sellers get less flexible, and the homes you're looking at get more expensive. I work with a lender who can show you exactly where you stand right now. Want me to make the introduction?"
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What to Say to a Seller
"[Name], I was just talking to an agent on my team this week and she said something that stuck with me. She said every time the news cycle gets heavy, about half the agents in town go completely silent. They stop calling. They stop following up. And their sellers sit there wondering what's going on. I don't want that to be your experience, so I'm calling to give you a straight read on what's actually happening. Buyer activity surged last week. Applications were up 11%. The people who are out there shopping right now are not tire-kickers. They're ready to move. If you've been thinking about listing, the spring window is forming right now and fewer sellers are taking advantage of it than you'd expect."
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📱 Copy-Paste Texts: Tap, Copy, Send
Buyer Nudge (active buyers)
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Rates dipped below 6% last week and bounced back within days. The buyers who had their pre-approval ready locked in. The ones who didn't watched it happen from the sidelines. That window is going to open again. The only question is whether you're ready when it does. Let me connect you with my lender this week so you're set up to move next time.
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Buyer Sphere (quiet/past leads)
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Something happened last week that I think you'd want to know about. Rates hit their lowest point since 2022. They've already bounced back. But for the people who were pre-approved and ready to go, that window was real. I've got a lender who can get you set up in about 20 minutes so you're positioned if it happens again. Want the intro?
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Seller Nudge (listing prospects)
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Mortgage applications jumped 11% last week. That's the biggest single-week move since 2022. Buyers are coming back and they're coming back fast. Meanwhile most sellers are sitting on the sidelines watching the news. Fewer listings + more buyers = the best pricing power you've had in months. How soon could you be ready to list?
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Seller Sphere (past clients)
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I closed a deal last week for a seller who listed while everyone else was nervous about the news. Had three offers in four days. Not every situation is the same, but right now the sellers who are moving are getting rewarded for it. If you've been thinking about it even a little, let's talk this week.
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📲 Social Media Post of the Week
Copy this caption. Post it with a photo of you, your neighborhood, or a simple text graphic.
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The headlines are scary right now. Oil prices up. Gas prices up. Rates bounced.
But here's what the headlines don't tell you.
Mortgage applications surged 11% last week. That's the biggest jump since 2022. Buyers are still out there. And rates are still way lower than they were a year ago.
Uncertainty scares some people out of the market. It also creates opportunity for the ones who stay.
Which side are you on? Drop a 🙋 if you want to know what this means for your area.
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Angle this week: Contrarian take. Pair with a headshot or a local street photo. Add your own hashtags.
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Client Forward Block
Copy the section below and forward it to a buyer or seller who needs this week's update.
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Market Update, March 6, 2026
Mortgage rates ticked up slightly this week after U.S. and Israeli military operations in Iran pushed oil prices higher. The weekly average edged up, and daily rates moved a bit more mid-week before settling back. Even with the bounce, rates are still near their lowest point since 2022 and well below where they were a year ago.
Gas prices jumped about 9% in one week, so keep that in mind for your monthly budget. The February jobs report comes out this morning and could push rates in either direction. The situation in the Middle East is the biggest wildcard right now. If things settle, rates will likely ease back. If they don't, rates could stay elevated for a while.
Bottom line: the market is noisier than it was two weeks ago, but the fundamentals are still in a much better place than last year. If you have questions about what this means for your situation, hit reply and I'll connect you with my team.
This is a general market overview based on national averages from the Freddie Mac PMMS® for the week ending 3/4/2026 and is not an offer to lend. Your actual rate and payment will depend on your individual financial profile. Cole Brantley, NMLS# 1905939. Mpire Financial, NMLS# 2108504. Equal Housing Lender.
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🤖 AI Tip of the Week
Turn one listing into a week of social media content (that actually sounds like you)
Take the MLS description, a few listing photos, and the neighborhood name. Paste them into Claude and use this prompt:
"Here's a listing I'm promoting. Create 5 social media posts for the week, one per day Monday through Friday. Each post should have a different angle: Monday is a neighborhood spotlight, Tuesday is a 'what $X gets you' comparison, Wednesday is a lifestyle post about who this home is perfect for, Thursday is a market stat tied to the listing, Friday is a simple 'just listed' with urgency. Keep each post under 100 words. Write in a casual, confident tone. Do not use em dashes. Do not use common AI language like 'stunning' or 'nestled' or 'boasts.' Write like a real person talking, not a brochure."
Five posts. Five angles. One listing. About 90 seconds of your time.
Make it sound like you, not like a robot. Before you run that prompt, paste in 3-5 of your own past posts or emails and add: "Study how I write. Match my sentence length, my word choices, and my tone. Then write the posts in my voice."
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What Moved Rates This Week
The context behind the numbers, for agents who want to go deeper.
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The big story. U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes against Iran on Saturday night (March 1). Iran's Supreme Leader was killed along with over 200 others. Iran retaliated with strikes against Israel, U.S. bases, and regional targets. The Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly one-fifth of the world's oil, is partially blockaded. This is the single biggest factor driving rates this week.
Oil and gas prices spiked immediately. Brent crude jumped to $84.56/barrel (up from ~$71 the week before). National gas prices hit $3.25/gal, up 9% from $2.98 a week ago. Higher oil means higher inflation expectations, which pushes bond yields up and mortgage rates up with them.
Why didn't bonds rally on the "safety" trade? Normally, geopolitical conflict sends investors into bonds (pushing rates down). Not this time. Mohamed El-Erian, one of the most respected voices in global finance, said the bond market is more worried about inflation from oil prices than it is about seeking safety. That's why the 10-year Treasury jumped from 3.97% to 4.13% in just a few days.
Manufacturing prices are surging too. Monday's ISM report showed factory input prices at their highest level since June 2022. The Prices Paid index jumped 11.5 points in a single month to 70.5. That was already happening before the oil spike, and it's going to get amplified with energy costs rising.
What's next? The February jobs report drops this morning (March 6, 8:30 AM). Forecast is around 60,000 new jobs, down from January's 130,000. A weak number could bring rates back down. A strong one keeps the pressure on. The Fed meets March 17-18 but markets expect them to hold steady. The biggest variable remains the situation overseas. If it de-escalates, rates could snap back toward the 5s. If it drags on, oil stays high and so do rates.
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What This Means for Buyers & Sellers
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The activity numbers tell a different story than the headlines. Mortgage applications surged 11% the week ending 2/27. Purchase apps rose 6.1%. Refinances climbed 14.3% for the fourth straight week. That data was collected BEFORE the oil spike, so next week's numbers will be the real test. But the momentum going into the conflict was the strongest since 2022.
Gas prices hit your clients' budgets right now. The jump from $2.98 to $3.25/gal costs the average household an extra $40-60/month. When you're talking to buyers, acknowledge this. It shows you're thinking about their whole financial picture, not just the transaction. It's also a reason to connect them with a lender who can run the full analysis and show them what they can actually afford with everything factored in.
Sellers: uncertainty thins out your competition. When headlines get heavy, sellers pull back too. That means fewer new listings hitting the market this month. If your seller lists while others are waiting, they face less inventory competition and get in front of the buyers who stayed active. The window is real and it's short.
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How to Refer a Client to Me
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Have a client who needs financing? Here's exactly what happens.
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Step 1
Reach out to me first. Text, email, or call me with the client's info and any notes about their situation. The more context upfront, the better I can serve them.
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Step 2
Introduce me in a 3-way text. A group text with you, me, and the client. Something like: "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."
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Step 3
I take it from there. I reach out to the client 7 times over the next 4 days with a mix of phone calls and text messages to set a consultation. After every conversation, I send you a recap of where things stand and what the next steps are.
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Step 4
No one gets forgotten. If the client doesn't respond after the first week, they move into a biweekly follow-up cadence from my call center team. No lead gets dropped.
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Lower-intent client? Just note it in your initial referral and my team follows up on whatever cadence you want.
I specialize in: Purchase | Refinance | VA/FHA | New Construction | Builders | Investors | First-Time Buyers
Cole Brantley | 813-579-8812 | [email protected] | ColeBrantley.com
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That's the Sheet
See you next Friday.
This weekend, do one thing. Pick one client who's gone quiet and send them the social media post above. Not as a text. Just post it. If they're following you, they'll see it. If they're not, tag them. Either way, you showed up when most people didn't.
Know an agent who could use a Friday cheat sheet? Forward this or share: ColeBrantley.com
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Cole Brantley | Loan Officer | NMLS# 1905939
Mpire Financial | NMLS# 2108504
189 S Orange Ave #2020, Orlando, FL 32801
Rates referenced in this newsletter are sourced from the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) and represent national weekly averages. They are for informational and educational purposes only and do not constitute an offer to lend, a loan commitment, or a guarantee of any specific rate. Your actual rate, terms, and monthly payment will depend on your individual financial profile, including credit score, down payment, loan type, property type, and other factors.
Payment examples in this newsletter are estimates based on a $400,000 loan amount at a 30-year fixed rate with 20% down payment. They do not include property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, or private mortgage insurance (PMI), which would increase the total monthly obligation. Rate does not equal Annual Percentage Rate (APR). APR reflects the total cost of borrowing including certain fees.
This newsletter is intended for real estate professionals and is not directed at consumers. All loan programs are subject to credit approval and property appraisal. Not all applicants will qualify. Programs, rates, terms, and conditions are subject to change without notice.
Verify licensing information at nmlsconsumeraccess.org
Equal Housing Lender
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