That's why I think Realtors need to stop building their entire business plan around predicting the next mortgage-rate move. Yes, we'd all love to see rates back in the 5s. Maybe they'll get there and maybe they won't. But sitting around waiting for the "perfect" interest rate isn't a business strategy. Instead, start looking for the people whose lives are telling them it's time to move. People get married. Couples get divorced. Babies are born. Families outgrow homes. Children leave for college. Parents downsize. People get transferred. Companies relocate employees. People inherit property. Renters decide they're ready to own. Retirees move closer to their children. None of those life events checks the 10-year Treasury before happening. A family expecting its third child may not be able to wait two years for the perfect mortgage rate because their two-bedroom condo isn't getting any bigger.
And nowhere is that more relevant than here in South Florida. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach aren't markets driven by just one type of buyer. We have local families moving up and down, retirees, international buyers, professionals relocating for work, people moving here from other states, newly married couples buying their first home and longtime owners deciding that their current home no longer fits their lives. That diversity is one of South Florida real estate's greatest strengths. The opportunity for Realtors is to stop asking "Who wants to buy at today's rate?" and start asking "Who needs to make a housing decision this year?" Those are two very different questions. The first one leads you toward people sitting on the sidelines watching CNBC. The second leads you toward actual transactions.
And today's market can give those buyers something the frenzy market couldn't: options and negotiating power. Higher rates are certainly a challenge for affordability—there's no point pretending otherwise. Freddie Mac's September 24 average for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.03%, compared with rates in the low-to-mid 6% range earlier this year. But rates are only one part of a transaction. Depending on the property and submarket, today's buyer may be able to negotiate price, seller concessions, closing costs or a rate buydown in ways that were extremely difficult when multiple offers were flying around. So our job as Realtors isn't to convince someone who has no reason to move that they suddenly need a house. Our job is to find the people who already have a reason to move and help them figure out how to make the numbers work. That's where good agents, creative lenders and smart negotiation become incredibly valuable.
So here's my challenge to South Florida Realtors this fall: stop waiting for the market to give you permission to succeed. Four million existing homes sold in America in 2024 despite elevated mortgage rates. Behind every one of those transactions was a reason marriage, divorce, a new baby, a new job, retirement, relocation, financial change or simply a family deciding it was time for something different. Those life events are happening right now in Miami, Coral Gables, Doral, Weston, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and communities throughout South Florida. Find those people. Talk to them. Educate them. Help them understand their options. The market doesn't have to be perfect for you to have a great market. And if you see today's market differently, I genuinely want to hear it. Reach out, let's connect and let's have the conversation because the best Realtors don't just talk about where the market has been; we're constantly learning from each other about where it's going next.
