Making Moves with Mandee

From assumable loans to payment-focused strategies, explore ways to navigate today’s housing market beyond the headlines.

Making Moves with Mandee: A Tough Market Doesn’t Mean You’re Out of Options

Headlines tell you what’s happening. A strategy helps you figure out what to do next.

Higher rates. Slower sales. Buyers worried about the payment. Sellers wondering how they’ll ever give up the low interest rate they already have.

If you’ve been following the housing market, you’ve probably heard all of it. And let’s be honest: buying or selling a home can feel more complicated when the numbers look different from what you remember.

I’m not here to tell you those challenges aren’t real. I’m here to remind you that a challenging market doesn’t automatically mean you’re stuck.

Before you decide you can’t make a move, let’s talk about your options.

What the Headlines Are Actually Saying

The slowdown isn’t imaginary. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 4.06 million existing homes sold nationwide in 2024, the lowest annual total since 1995. That’s nearly three decades, not just 25 years. It’s an important statistic, but it describes completed sales in a particular year, not your individual chances of buying or selling today.

Rates remain part of the challenge. Freddie Mac reported that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.32% on October 22, 2026, compared with 6.19% a year earlier. Those are national averages, not a personalized loan quote, but they help explain why buyers are paying close attention to financing.

Those numbers deserve context—not panic.

A national report can tell us where the broader market has been. It cannot tell us whether a particular home, payment, or move makes sense for you.

Don’t Shop for a Rate. Shop for a Payment You Can Live With.

Let me be clear: the interest rate matters. It affects your payment and how much interest you pay over time.

But it isn’t the only number that matters.

When we talk about affordability, I want to look at your whole picture:

• What monthly housing expense feels comfortable?
• How much cash do you want to keep available after closing?
• What other expenses and savings goals need room in your budget?
• Does this move solve a real need in your life?

The goal isn’t to win a conversation about who got the lowest rate. It’s to find a home and financing structure that work without making the rest of your life feel financially squeezed.

There May Be More Than One Way to Structure the Financing

A mortgage quote isn’t just an interest rate. There are tradeoffs between what you pay upfront and what you pay each month.

For example, discount points allow a borrower to pay more at closing in exchange for a lower interest rate. Lender credits generally work in the opposite direction: they reduce upfront closing costs in exchange for a higher rate. Neither is automatically the better choice.

Paying points can make sense when you keep the loan long enough for the monthly savings to outweigh the upfront expense. That’s why we need to compare the actual costs, not just circle the lowest rate on the page.

Another option to discuss with your lender is a temporary buydown. With this structure, money is set aside to cover part of the payment for an initial period. It is temporary payment assistance, not a permanently lower note rate. VA guidance, for example, describes buydowns lasting one to three years, with funding that may come from a seller, builder, lender, or eligible borrower.

My approach? Understand the payment after that assistance ends, not just the attractive number at the beginning.

Assumable Loans Deserve a Conversation

If you’re a buyer hoping to access an existing loan or a seller wondering whether your mortgage could help your home stand out an assumption may be worth exploring.

FHA-insured mortgages are assumable, subject to applicable requirements. VA-backed loans can also be assumed through an approved process. That can create an opportunity for a buyer to take over an existing mortgage rather than replace it with an entirely new one.

But an assumable loan is not a shortcut around the details.

The buyer still needs a plan for the difference between the purchase price and the remaining loan balance. For example, if a home sells for $500,000 and the existing mortgage balance is $350,000, the buyer must cover the $150,000 difference, plus applicable closing costs. A lower rate alone doesn’t solve that cash gap.

Sellers need protection, too. With an FHA assumption, the required approval and release-of-liability procedures matter. With a VA loan, release from liability and restoration of the seller’s VA entitlement are separate issues; entitlement can remain tied to the loan unless the necessary substitution or other restoration conditions are met.

An assumption can be a useful tool. It just needs to be evaluated and handled correctly.

Sellers: Your Low Rate Matters, but So Does Your Next Chapter

If you have a low mortgage rate, I understand why giving it up feels difficult.

But the decision deserves more than a comparison between your old rate and a new one.

Maybe your home no longer fits. Maybe you need to relocate. Maybe maintaining the property has become more than you want to manage.

Before deciding you’re stuck, let’s put the questions on paper:

• What might you realistically net from a sale?
• What would the next home cost each month?
• How much of your equity would you want to put toward that purchase?
• Could an approved loan assumption be relevant to your sale?
• What would staying cost you—in money, time, or daily frustration?

Sometimes the numbers support making a move. Sometimes they support staying put. Either way, you deserve a decision based on your situation, not pressure from a headline.

Negotiation Is About More Than the Sale Price

Price matters, but it shouldn’t be the only conversation.

Depending on the property, the seller’s priorities, and the financing rules, we can explore whether an offer should include a request for help with eligible closing costs or a buydown. Those requests still need lender review: for example, VA treats seller- or builder-funded temporary buydowns as seller concessions and applies program limits.

That’s why I want the agent and lender working together early. Before we ask for a particular credit, we should know whether it’s allowed, whether you can use it, and whether it actually helps your goals.

The best offer structure isn’t necessarily the one with the biggest concession. It’s the one that makes the transaction work for both sides.

A Tough Market Calls for a Plan, Not a Pep Talk

I’m not going to tell you every buyer should buy right now or every seller should list tomorrow.

And I don’t want your purchase to depend on the hope that refinancing will rescue an uncomfortable payment later.

What I do want is for you to understand the possibilities before ruling yourself out.

Let’s look at the payment. Let’s compare financing choices. Let’s explore whether an assumption, a different offer structure, or a different price range changes the picture.

The headlines can start the conversation. They shouldn’t make the decision.

Whether you’re buying, selling, or just exploring your options, let’s find a strategy that works for your budget, your goals, and your next chapter because with Homes with Mandee, it’s about making the right move for you.