Short version: bonds gave back ground Friday afternoon and we're holding a tight range ahead of Friday's CPI print — lock bias on anything closing this month. Tax season just ended, which means a buyer pool most lenders won't touch — self-employed and 1099 earners — is suddenly ready to move. May inventory is finally landing. Memorial Day weekend is three Saturdays out. Here's how to work it.
📈THE 10-SECOND rate read
Freddie Mac's weekly print last Thursday came in at 6.30% — up from 6.23% the prior week. Friday afternoon then got hammered — mortgage-backed securities (UMBS 5.5) lost 43 bps in three afternoon prints as traders repositioned ahead of Friday's CPI print. We're sitting in a razor-tight range this morning — the calm before the next catalyst.
🏠THE MICHIGAN number
Two read-throughs for your week:
• Tell your "still looking" buyers it's time to circle back. The folks who said "nothing fits" in March now have options. Re-engage them this week before they wander to a Zillow lender on a Saturday open house.
• Sellers who listed in March and stalled need a price-vs-buydown conversation today. Every new May listing is competition. The math is below — it's a strong listing-presentation talking point.
💬THE POST-TAX-DAY window
Your self-employed buyers, your investors, your 1099 earners — they all filed their 2025 returns three weeks ago. Most lenders qualify them off net income after deductions, the number they spend all year minimizing. I qualify them off bank statements, rental income, or 1099s. Same buyer, very different approval.
If you've got a sphere contact in that bucket, this is the week to check in. Tweak this so it sounds like you:
Door-opener only — let them surface the interest, and I'll handle the rest when you make the intro.
💰THE DEAL-SAVER math
Your listing's been sitting three weeks. Seller wants to know whether to drop $15K or do a 2-1 buydown. Here's the math you can text right now.
Scenario: $400,000 purchase, 10% down, $360,000 loan, 30-yr fixed. Note rate 6.50%.
| The Move | Year 1 P&I | Cost to Seller |
|---|---|---|
| Drop list $15K$385K, loan $346,500, 6.50% | $2,189/mo | $15,000 |
| Seller-paid 2-1 buydownKeep $400K. Y1 4.50%, Y2 5.50%, Y3+ 6.50% | $1,824/mo | ~$8,200 |
"You drop the list price $15,000 and the buyer's payment barely moves. Or you spend roughly $8,200 on a buydown that gets the buyer a payment $365 cheaper per month than the price cut would — and you keep almost $7,000 in your pocket. Which one closes the deal?"
Drop me the address and asking price — I'll run the buydown sheet for your specific listing in 10 minutes, co-branded with your name and number, ready to text the seller.
🎁FREE CO-BRANDED asset
Self-Employed Buyer Pre-Approval Survival Guide
Three pages, plain English, co-branded with your photo and brokerage logo:
- The one-page "what to bring me" checklist for 1099 / business-owner buyers
- Bank-statement-loan vs. tax-return-loan in five sentences
- Three real scenarios — the contractor, the agent, the salon owner — with what got them approved
Use it on your next listing presentation, send it to your sphere, attach it to a "tax season's over" email — whatever fits. Yours to use all year.
Reply "Self-Employed Guide" →👀ONE THING I'M watching
Memorial Day weekend is three Saturdays out. Every year the Northern Michigan and lake market wakes up the day after — and every year the realtors who lined up financing in early May clean up while the rest scramble to qualify second-home buyers in June.
If you've got buyers eyeing anything north of M-46 or west of US-131 with a dock, get them in front of me this week. Second-home and investment qualifications take longer than primary — start now, close in time for the Fourth.