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Seven Scripts to Get Stalled Buyers and Sellers Moving
This week’s pack has seven ready-to-use scripts for the conversations that are stalling deals right now: buyers who are waiting, homes that quietly came off the market, and sellers who need a new plan. Five are 30-second social scripts and two are for client calls. Every line is written in your voice, so you can read it to the camera or to a client exactly as it’s written.
What’s inside
- Script 1: Why the Fed doesn’t set mortgage rates
- Script 2: What waiting has cost since February
- Client Script A: The buyer who says “I’m waiting until after the Fed meeting”
- Script 3: Homes that quietly came off the market Evergreen
- Script 4: What a listing’s price history tells you Evergreen
- Script 5: Why a real pre-approval wins offers Evergreen
- Client Script B: The seller who already pulled their home off the market
The numbers behind the scripts
In the middle of September, the Federal Reserve raised its overnight target rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to a range of 3.75% to 4%. Over the same month, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose half a point, and the average 30-year fixed rate in Freddie Mac’s weekly survey rose from 6.71% to 7.28% in the reading released last Thursday. Mortgage rates follow the bond market, not the Fed’s meetings, and back in late February that same average dipped just under 6% with no help from the Fed.
On the listing side, sellers took homes off the market this spring at the highest rate since 2020, and about one in four listings has cut its price. Those are the openings Scripts 3 and 4 help buyers find, and the sellers Client Script B is written for.
Rate figures are index readings, not offers. Any one buyer’s rate depends on their credit, down payment, and loan type. When a client wants to see their real numbers, send them my way.
Sources: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey · Federal Reserve, September 16, 2026 · U.S. Treasury daily yield curve · Redfin delistings report · Zillow August market report
Seven Scripts to Get Stalled Buyers and Sellers Moving
Five 30-second social scripts and two client conversation scripts, all written for this market and all fill-in-the-blank. Scripts 1 and 2 are timely, so film those first. Scripts 3 through 5 are evergreen and will still work into next year. Every line is written in your voice, so you can read it to the camera or to a client exactly as it’s written.
Five social scripts
30 seconds each
“The Fed doesn’t set your mortgage rate”
“What do you actually know about what sets your mortgage rate? Because the Fed’s next decision won’t do what you think it will.”
“Every time the Fed meets, half the internet says mortgage rates are about to move. Here’s the part nobody explains: the Fed sets an overnight bank rate. Your 30-year mortgage tracks the bond market, and those two things go in opposite directions all the time. Proof: the lowest mortgage rates of this year came back in February, when the Fed wasn’t doing anything. The Fed hasn’t cut since. In fact, it raised its rate in September, and mortgage rates rose more than twice as much as the Fed’s move. So if your plan is ‘wait for the Fed,’ you’re watching the wrong scoreboard.”
“I’m not sure if you’re ready to look yet, but if you’d like to know what your actual rate would be this week, not the headline one, comment RATE and I’ll connect you with my lender.”
The Fed does not set your mortgage rate. Here’s what actually does. #mortgagemyths #[yourcity]realestate #homebuying
“The February buyers won”
“I want to tell you about the people who bought a house in February, and what the rest of us can learn from them.”
“In February, mortgage rates hit their lowest point of the year, just under 6 percent. Nobody knew it at the time. It didn’t feel special. The headlines that week were about how expensive housing was. Fast forward to now: rates are higher than they were in February, and higher than they were a year ago, so many buyers who waited are looking at a bigger monthly payment today. Nobody rings a bell at the bottom, and nobody can tell you where rates go next. What you can know is your real number today.”
“If you’ve been waiting for the right moment for more than a year, how open-minded would you be to just seeing your real numbers? DM me the word NUMBERS.”
The best rate of 2026 came and went in February, and nobody noticed. #realestate #homebuying #costofwaiting
“The shadow market”
“I’m guessing nobody has told you about the homes in your neighborhood that are for sale but aren’t listed. Let me explain.”
“This spring, sellers pulled their homes off the market at the highest rate since 2020. Not because they stopped wanting to move, but because they didn’t get their price and got frustrated. Those houses aren’t on the home-search apps anymore, but the owners still want out, and a lot of them would rather have a serious conversation than wait another six months. Your app can’t show you those homes. I can pull that list for you.”
“If you tell me the neighborhood you love, then I’ll pull every home that came off the market there this year. Comment SHADOW and I’ll get started.”
The best house for you might be one that gave up. #homebuying #[yourcity] #realestatetips
“What a price cut is actually telling you”
“Two houses, same price cut, completely different meaning. Here’s how to tell them apart.”
“About one in four listings right now has cut its price. But how they cut tells you everything. One small cut in week two means the seller is responsive and priced a little high. Three tiny cuts over four months means the seller is chasing the market down and will keep cutting. A big cut after a long silence usually means their motivation just changed. Before you write an offer, look at the price history, not just the price.”
“Just imagine walking into your next offer already knowing how motivated the seller is. Send me any listing you’re watching and I’ll read its history for you.”
The price history tells you more than the price. #buyertips #realestate #negotiation
“Your pre-approval is a receipt, not a ticket”
“The reason your offer keeps losing might have nothing to do with your offer.”
“Listing agents can usually tell a real pre-approval from a soft one quickly. A soft one is a form letter from a website. A real one means a lender actually looked at your income, assets, and credit, and will pick up the phone and tell the listing agent so. When I write an offer for my buyers, I make sure that call happens, because when sellers have choices, it’s worth more than another few thousand dollars. And if your pre-approval is a few months old, it’s worth refreshing so it reflects where you stand today.”
“I’m not sure if this is you, but if your pre-approval is from the spring, it’s probably due for a refresh. Comment REFRESH and I’ll connect you with my lender.”
Not all pre-approvals are the same, and listing agents know it. #homebuying #mortgagetips #buyersagent
Two client conversation scripts
for the calls that decide it
The buyer who says “I’m waiting until after the Fed meeting”
“That’s fair. Just out of curiosity, what makes you want to wait until after the Fed meeting?” (Let them answer.)
“A lot of buyers expect that meeting to bring their rate down, so here’s the honest version. The Fed meeting won’t change your mortgage rate that Wednesday. The Fed sets an overnight bank rate. Your mortgage tracks the bond market, which usually prices this in weeks ahead. That’s why the lowest rates of this year came in February, when the Fed did nothing at all.”
“So you have three options. You can stop looking and wait. You can keep looking and figure out the rate later. Or you can keep looking and let my lender refresh your numbers now, so you’re ready the day the right house shows up. The third one keeps every door open. When would be a good time this week for my lender to give you a quick call?”
The seller who already delisted once
“Don’t worry. What happened to you happened to a lot of people this year. This spring, sellers pulled their homes off the market at the highest rate since 2020. That’s not a you problem. That’s a market that changed faster than the pricing advice did.”
“Homes are still selling in neighborhood, at a median of about X days. The ones that sell and the ones that sit are usually separated by three decisions: where it launched, how it looked in the first 48 hours, and whether there was a plan for week three. All three are fixable. How open-minded would you be to something other than another price cut? You could offer buyers help with their monthly payment, which my lender can structure. It often costs about the same as one price reduction.”
“From here you have three options: wait for spring, relist the same way, or relist with a plan for those three decisions. Before you make up your mind, let me put together a breakdown of exactly why it sat. If I can show you that, will you give me twenty minutes to walk through it?”
Exhale Lending is a mortgage brokerage firm that embodies trust, transparency, and a genuine desire to help clients achieve financial serenity. With our client-centric approach, expertise, and unwavering commitment to excellence, Exhale Lending is poised to make a meaningful impact on the journey towards homeownership for individuals and families alike.
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