If you’ve been telling clients, or yourself, to “wait until rates come down,” the latest numbers deserve your attention.
This month, The Wall Street Journal surveyed 71 economists (read the full survey here). Their message was clear: higher bond yields aren’t going away anytime soon. The 10-year Treasury yield, which mortgage rates tend to follow, has climbed from 4.2% in January to 5.1% this week. Roughly three-quarters of the economists expect it to end the year at 5% or higher, and more than a third expect it to stay there through 2027.
Translation: the market we have is the market we’ll be working in for a while.
The Waiting Trap
Waiting feels safe. It isn’t. Agents who are waiting for a better market are giving up a year or more of relationships, listings and momentum. Buyers who are waiting may face higher prices when rates eventually ease and every other waiting buyer jumps back in at once.
The good news is that people don’t move because of interest rates. They move because life happens.
Life Doesn’t Wait for Rates
I call them the 8 D’s of why people move: Diamonds, Diapers, Diplomas, Drive, Downsizing, Deployments, Divorce, and Decline or Death.
Marriages, new babies, graduations, new jobs, empty nests, military orders, separations and loss all happen in every market, at every rate. Several of them come with a deadline. Those clients are moving this year whether rates are 5% or 7%.
The only question is who they’ll call.
What the Winners Did Last Time
Steve Murray and his RealTrends team studied 17 brokerages that grew through the 2006–2009 downturn, one of the toughest markets in history. Their “Against All Odds” study found no magic formula. Those firms had great leadership, they got closer to their people, and they executed the daily fundamentals.
That’s the playbook again today. Here’s how to run it this week, whatever your seat.
If You’re an Agent
Contact five past clients this week. Don’t ask whether they’re thinking of buying or selling. Ask how life is going, and listen for the 8 D’s. Then set a daily number of conversations and protect that time like a listing appointment. In a slow market, consistency is your competitive advantage.
If You’re a Broker-Owner
Get closer to your people. Meet one-on-one with every agent this month and ask two questions: How is your business? How is your life? Help each agent build a simple daily contact plan, then lead from the front by modeling the fundamentals yourself. Your agents will remember who showed up for them in this market.
If You’re a Recruiter
Tough markets cause agents to reevaluate where they hang their license. Make ten career conversations a week and lead with curiosity, not splits. Ask what’s working in their business and what isn’t, and listen for the gap your company can fill: leadership, coaching, community. Agents don’t leave companies; they leave a lack of support.
If You’re an Affiliate Partner
Lenders, escrow, title, insurance and home services partners: this is your moment to be the expert in the room. Offer a short training at a local office on what today’s rates actually mean for a buyer’s payment, and the options that can help, from buydowns to alternative loan programs. Give agents a simple script for the “should I wait?” conversation. Partners who bring education and solutions now will be first in line when volume returns.
The Bottom Line
Rates are out of our control. Our daily activity isn’t.
Win the day.
Framework: This post is part of Action Produces Data, the coaching framework for consistent production: take the next right action, track it and let the results, not opinions, guide what you do next.
Want help applying this in your brokerage? Book a 30-minute conversation with Mark at calendly.com/mjsession.
