Mortgage Rates

Learn the different ways we can close the gate on the chaos of the housing market throughout 2026 with Bobby Franklin the North Texas market insider

The Hawkins Housing Market: Closing the Gate and Ending the Terror

Your Strategic Game Plan for 2026 (While We Wait for Answers) If you’ve followed this series from the beginning, you know by now that the Ellis County housing market has been through its own Upside Down journey. Episode 1: We watched the portal open in 2020, ultra-low rates and pandemic disruption fundamentally reshaping reality. Episode 2: We felt Vecna’s curse trap millions of...

Learn about the similarities between the federal reserve and the mind flayer from Stranger Things with Bobby Franklin the North Texas market insider

The Mind Flayer’s Web: How Fed Policy Controls the Housing Market (And What Their 2026 Pivot Means for You)

Episode 3 of 5: The Stranger Things Market Intelligence Series In Stranger Things, the Mind Flayer is an invisible entity from the Upside Down that controls everything through a vast psychic network. You can’t see it directly, but its influence is everywhere, people moving in unison, behaviors synchronized, entire systems responding to its unseen commands. The Federal Reserve operates exactly...

Vecna’s Curse: How the Mortgage Lock-In Effect Trapped North Texas Homeowners (And How to Break Free in 2026)

Episode 2 of 5: The Stranger Things Market Intelligence Series In Stranger Things, Vecna’s victims hear a grandfather clock chiming before he strikes. The ticking becomes louder, more insistent, until it’s all they can hear, a countdown to their doom that they can’t escape. If you locked in a mortgage rate below 4% between 2020 and 2021, you know exactly how that feels. Welcome to...

Explore the recent volatility of the housing market through the lens of Stranger Things and Hawkins, Indiana with Bobby Franklin, the North Texas market insider

The Hawkins Housing Market: A Stranger Things Journey Through Real Estate’s Upside Down

Episode 1 of 5: The Market Intelligence Series You Can’t Afford to Miss If you’ve been trying to make sense of the housing market over the past five years, I’ve got news for you: you’ve been living in the Upside Down, and most agents won’t tell you how we got here or how we’re getting out. I’m giving you the intelligence you actually need to make smart decisions in 2026. Consider...

Learn about the hidden cost behind builder mortgage rate buy downs and how to know if it's a good fit for you with Bobby Franklin the North Texas market insider

Are Builder Mortgage Buydowns a Lifeline or a Trap?

If you’re shopping for new construction in Waxahachie, Midlothian, Red Oak, or anywhere across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, you’ve walked into model homes seeing interest rates advertised as low as 1.99%, 3.99%, or 4.99%. Builders are pushing these rate buydowns harder than I’ve seen in years, approximately 60-73% of major builders are offering them right now. But here’s what nobody’s...

Learn why waiting for rates to come down won't save you as much as you think with Bobby Franklin the North Texas market insider

Is Saving $80/month Worth Waiting Another Year to Buy A Home?

Market Intelligence Report | December 2025 There’s a conversation happening at kitchen tables across Ellis County right now. Young families in Waxahachie, professionals relocating to Midlothian, first-time buyers eyeing Ferris’s explosive growth, they’re all asking the same question: “Should we wait for mortgage rates to drop before we buy?” I get it. When your uncle tells you rates...

Forecasting interest rate relief in 2025

The Timeline for Rate Relief: What Ellis County Buyers Need to Know

Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room You’re putting off buying a house because mortgage rates are “too high.” I get it. When you compare today’s 6.5-7% rates to the 3% rates your coworker locked in during COVID, it feels like you’re getting a raw deal. But here’s what nobody’s telling you: Those COVID rates were the anomaly, not today’s rates. And if you’re waiting for...

How will the government shutdown affect my home purchase in 2025?

How To Win During the Government Shutdown

What North Texas Buyers and Sellers Need to Know Right Now Listen, while everyone else is paralyzed by the headlines, smart buyers and sellers in North Texas are asking better questions. Not “Should I panic?” but “How do I turn this into my advantage?” The federal government shutdown that started October 1st has created uncertainty, sure. But here’s what I know after tracking every major...

The Federal reserve bulding

Why the Fed Won’t Rescue Your Mortgage (And the Disaster If They Did)

The Question Everyone’s Asking (But Few Understand) If you’ve been waiting to buy a home, you’ve probably wondered: “Why doesn’t the Federal Reserve just lower mortgage rates and fix this housing mess?” It’s a fair question. After all, the Fed controls interest rates, right? They raised them to fight inflation, so why can’t they just… lower them for mortgages specifically? The...

How to Buy a home with high rates

How to Buy NOW Even If Rates Stay High (Strategic Buyer Guide)

The Conversation I Have Ten Times a Week Buyer: “Bobby, I want to buy a house, but these rates are killing me. I’m paying $2,000/month in rent, and I feel like I’m throwing money away. But when I run the numbers on buying, the payment is $2,400/month. I can’t afford that.” Me: “So you can’t afford an extra $400/month, but you CAN afford to pay $24,000/year in rent that builds zero...