Ryan Cox Mortgage Team

08/31/2026

The Shift Is In Full Swing🏠

The housing market has changed faster than seller expectations.

80% of sellers expect to get their asking price or more.

Yet 62% of homes are selling below asking price.

That disconnect explains a lot about what's happening in housing.

Sellers are starting to feel it.

5.8% of U.S. listings were pulled off the market in April.

That's the highest share since March 2020, and some sellers are simply giving up.

Why are sellers giving up?

Three things have changed:
More inventory. Shifting prices. Longer days on market.

The market moved, but some seller expectations haven't.

Homes now take a median 52 days to sell, longer than every year since 2020.

So much for not listing your house for sale until you find one you like...

No desirable property is going to stay available while you take 52 days to sell your existing one.

But don't confuse a changing market with a crashing market.

National home prices are still expected to rise roughly 2.3% in 2026, and pending sales are running ahead of 2024 and 2025.

What we're seeing is a rebalancing of leverage.

And that's important if you're buying a home.

A property that has been sitting for 40 or 50 days creates a very different negotiation than one that received 12 offers its first weekend.

There may now be opportunities to negotiate:
• A lower purchase price
• Seller-paid closing costs
• Mortgage rate buydowns
• Repairs or improvements
• Better overall contract terms

The interest rate matters, and the price matters. But your ability to negotiate the deal matters too.

That's why waiting for the "perfect market" can cause buyers to overlook opportunities developing in the market they already have.

For sellers, there's an equally important lesson…

The market will ultimately determine what your home is worth regardless of what you hoped it would be worth or what your neighbor sold for two years ago.

The old playbook was simple:
List it, get multiple offers and sell fast.

That's no longer guaranteed.

Today's advantage belongs to the buyers and sellers who recognize the shift early, understand their local market, and adjust their strategy accordingly.

Glad to Platinum Preapprove™️ someone you care about that could use my help or a second opinion🏠🙌

Contact me to see what your unique scenario would look like👀

Just a couple things we do really well…

💥 Seller concessions can be used for buying out PMI, closing costs or interest rate buydown.

💥 Contingency Buster bridge loans are for clients looking to buy before they sell.

08/26/2026

The More Things Change🏠

Everyone is waiting for mortgage rates to "finally drop."

But that wait is quietly costing buyers real opportunities in today's market.

The assumption is that rates are about to fall into some perfect window, but that is not what the major forecasts are showing.

Fannie Mae, the MBA, and Wells Fargo are all pointing to the same reality: rates are expected to stay relatively stable, not suddenly drop into a once in a lifetime low.

And that is where most people get stuck.

Because while they are waiting for a better number, the market does not pause.

Home prices adjust, competition shifts, and the best properties are still being taken by buyers who are already positioned to move.

The real problem is not rates, it is uncertainty. Waiting for a "perfect" rate creates hesitation, and hesitation is what costs people leverage, negotiation power, and sometimes the home they actually wanted.

The buyers who are winning right now are not trying to time the market. They are working within it.

They are structuring deals based on today's rates, understanding their real buying power, and adjusting strategy when the right opportunity shows up.

That approach creates control instead of guesswork.

So the better question is not "when will rates hit 5%?"

It is "what can I comfortably qualify for right now, and how do use that to my advantage today?"

If you want a clear breakdown of your options, or you have a client who is stuck on the sidelines, send me a quick message or text me their info.

I will take it from there.

Glad to Platinum Preapprove™️ someone you care about that could use my help or a second opinion🏠🙌

Contact me to see what your unique scenario would look like👀

Just a couple things we do really well…

💥 Veterans - entitlement calculations are critical to avoid getting caught up in VA underwriting, we make it a breeze.

💥 1st Time Homebuyers - we hand-hold clients through the process when necessary and provide Roadmaps to Qualification so that our answer is never “No” sometimes its just “Not right now, but let us show you the way.”

08/17/2026

Why Is No One Talking About This🤷

Look at the same week in August, five years running.

30yr fixed, first week of August...
2026: 6.75%
2025: 6.63%
2024: 6.73%
2023: 6.90%
2022: 4.99%

Four straight years in the high 6's.

2023. 2024. 2025. 2026.

That's not a spike. That's not a blip. That's the market.

So if you're waiting on rates to come down, how long will you wait?

And what number are you waiting to see?

Here's what waiting actually costs...

Anyone who sat out since 2023 waiting for a better rate has now paid three more years of rent and missed three years of appreciation plus principal paydown.

The rate barely moved, but the equity did.

Meanwhile affordability quietly improved.

Affordability Index:
Today = 102.3
vs.
One year ago = 95.5

Anything above 100 means the median household can afford the median home.

Wages grew faster than prices. Buyers are coming back.

Glad to Platinum Preapprove™️ someone you care about that could use my help or a second opinion🏠🙌

Contact me to see what your unique scenario would look like👀

p.s. - Just a couple things we do really well…

💥Elite Purchase Program allows borrowers to get no increase (surcharge) on their interest rate for being jumbo or second home buyers.

💥Medical Professionals Program - Up to $2M, 100% financing, No PMI, Favorable student loan debt tolerance, Max 10% down. Dentists, Pharmacists, Veterinarians, CRNAs, Medical residents, Fellows or Interns with degrees are potentially eligible.

08/10/2026

More Buyers Are Saying Yes🏠

The biggest lie in real estate right now?

"Nobody is buying homes."

The data says otherwise.

Despite mortgage rates staying above 6%, more homes are going under contract than they were at this point in both 2024 and 2025.

Here's what's actually happening:
The buyers who were waiting for the "perfect" market have realized life doesn't wait for lower rates.

People are getting married. Growing their families. Taking new jobs. Relocating.

And they're buying because they need a home, not because the headlines finally gave them permission.

If you're a seller, this should change the way you think about today's market.

Yes, buyers have more choices than they did a few years ago, but serious buyers are still writing offers every single day.

The opportunity isn't gone. It's shifted.

The sellers who price strategically, prepare their home properly, and understand today's buyer are still winning.

Don't let headlines make decisions that the data doesn't support.

The best decisions are made with facts, not fear.

Follow for housing market insights backed by data, not headlines.

Glad to Platinum Preapprove™️ someone you care about that could use my help or a second opinion🏠🙌

Contact me to see what your unique scenario would look like👀

Just a couple things we do really well…

💥 Self Employed Borrowers - Bank statement loans and creative ways to document income without using tax returns.

💥 DSCR Investor Loans - No income docs, as long as the subject property fair market rental value appraises then the borrower just needs minimum 20% down and 620 credit score to potentially qualify without documenting income.

08/04/2026

Reasons Not To Stay Stuck🏠

Should you buy or rent?

Here's the truth...

We have never seen a wider wealth gap between renters and homeowners than we have right now.

And with no signs of that gap narrowing anytime soon, the answer is pretty clear.

What do you think?

And yes, people still sell their homes that have lower mortgage rates in exchange for buying a new home that has a higher interest rate.

This is why we still see nearly 5,000,000 total home sales each year over the past few years.

Glad to Platinum Preapprove™️ someone you care about that could use my help or a second opinion🏠🙌

Just a couple things we do really well…

💥 Seller concessions can be used for buying out PMI, closing costs or interest rate buydown.

💥 Contingency Buster bridge loans are for clients looking to buy before they sell.

07/29/2026

07/27/2026

Home Prices Not Collapsing🏠

This is a lot of nested equity, making it very hard to have a housing price collapse when there is a lack of supply of foreclosure candidates compared to 2008.

In 2008, the total LTV data was around 85%, and now it's sitting at 45.1%.

Glad to Platinum Preapprove™️ someone you care about that could use my help or a second opinion🏠🙌

Contact me to see what your unique scenario would look like👀

Just a couple things we do really well…

💥 Veterans - entitlement calculations are critical to avoid getting caught up in VA underwriting, we make it a breeze.

💥 1st Time Homebuyers - we hand-hold clients through the process when necessary and provide Roadmaps to Qualification so that our answer is never “No” sometimes its just “Not right now, but let us show you the way.”