After the 2026 election: how to explain rates, prices and seller concessions to your clients
Every buyer and seller saw the headlines. Few know what they mean for a sale this month. One metro's October numbers show what to bring to the conversation: slower sales, steady prices and concessions on most deals.
The numbers
Clients are asking what the 2026 election means for their home. Democrats won the U.S. House on November 3 and, by major networks' projections, the Senate, with a few races still being counted the next day. The honest answer for most buyers and sellers is that the vote does not change this month's math. Rates, inventory and how motivated the other side is do. The agent who brings those numbers to the conversation earns the listing or the offer.
Does the election change mortgage rates?
Not directly. Mortgage rates follow the 10-year Treasury yield, inflation and the Federal Reserve. Freddie Mac's weekly survey put the 30-year fixed at 7.18% on November 5, 2026, down from 7.24% a week earlier. What Congress passes on spending and taxes, and how bond markets react, will matter more than which party holds the gavel. Tell clients to plan on today's rate and treat a later drop as a refinance opportunity, not a reason to wait.
What does a slow-but-steady market look like? One metro's October
The Denver Metro Association of Realtors' October 2026 report, released November 4, is a clean example of the market many agents are working in now:
| Denver metro, October 2026 | Number |
|---|---|
| Closed sales | 2,748, down 23.54% from a year earlier |
| Active listings | about 13,000 |
| Median detached price | $645,000 |
| Median condo/townhome price | $375,000, down 3.25% from a year earlier |
| Median days in MLS | 26 detached, 48 attached |
| Sales with a seller concession | 65%, averaging $12,557 |
Sales fell by almost a quarter while prices held. That is a market where buyers negotiate on terms, not just price, and where condos and townhomes, with more than seven months of supply in Denver, give buyers the most room.
How should you show a seller the concession math?
When two out of three sales include a concession, the question is not whether to offer one but how to spend it. The same dollars do very different work:
| $12,000 to $12,600 of seller money on a $645,000 sale, 20% down, 7.2% rate | Buyer's monthly principal and interest |
|---|---|
| No concession ($516,000 loan) | $3,503 |
| $12,557 price cut instead | $3,435 (about $68 less) |
| 2-1 buydown, costs about $12,136: year 1 at 5.2% | $2,833 ($670 less) |
| Same buydown, year 2 at 6.2% | $3,160 ($343 less) |
A price cut of that size barely moves the payment. A temporary buydown of about the same cost cuts it by $670 a month in year one, and it leaves the recorded sale price, and the neighbors' comps, intact. Loan programs cap what a seller can contribute: FHA allows up to 6% of the price, VA up to 4% in concessions, and conventional loans 3% to 9% depending on the down payment. The buyer still has to qualify at the full note rate on most loans, so have the lender confirm before you write it into an offer.
What should sellers expect on net proceeds?
Build the concession into the net sheet from the first meeting. A seller who expects to keep every dollar of a $645,000 price, then gives back $12,557 at the table, feels like they lost; a seller who planned for it feels like they won. Show the net at list price, at the expected price and at the expected price with a typical concession for the area.
What to tell your clients
Buyers asking whether to wait for the new Congress: real policy changes take months after a new Congress is sworn in in January. Meanwhile, sellers are paying concessions on most sales. Waiting trades a known negotiating edge for a guess about rates.
Sellers asking whether the election will raise their price: no single vote resets local prices. The last 90 days of sales in their neighborhood, and the homes they will compete with, set the price. Offer a buydown budget in the listing plan instead of a price cut later.
First-time buyers on FHA: a 6% seller contribution limit can cover most closing costs and some buydown. Show them the payment, not just the rate.
A local example to share: The Kenna Group at Keller Williams DTC wrote the consumer version of these October numbers for Denver buyers and sellers: the Denver market update on kennarealestate.com.
Today's numbers
Where the market stands now
The story above is dated November 5, 2026. These update on their own as the publishers release new data.
Questions
Quick answers
Will the 2026 election lower mortgage rates?
Not directly. Rates follow Treasury yields, inflation and the Federal Reserve. Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed averaged 7.18% on November 5, 2026. What Congress passes, and how bond markets react, matters more than the vote itself.
How common are seller concessions right now?
In the Denver metro, 65% of October 2026 sales included a seller concession, averaging $12,557, per the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.
Is a rate buydown better than a price cut?
Often, for the buyer's payment. On a $516,000 loan at 7.2%, a 2-1 buydown costing about $12,136 lowers the first-year payment by about $670 a month; a $12,557 price cut lowers it by about $68.
How much can a seller contribute on an FHA loan?
Up to 6% of the sale price toward the buyer's closing costs, prepaid items and discount points.
Sources
- Denver Metro Association of Realtors, “DMAR Real Estate Market Trends Report, October 2026,” November 4, 2026. www.dmarealtors.com
- Freddie Mac, “Primary Mortgage Market Survey,” November 5, 2026. www.freddiemac.com
- Northeastern Global News, “2026 midterm election results: Who won the key House and Senate races?,” November 3, 2026. news.northeastern.edu
Written by the AgentCOS News Desk in our own words from the sources above. Numbers are as published on the dates shown; publishers sometimes revise them later.
