Hufstetler says the brokers doing the hard work now are building the referral equity that pays off in the next cycle
The mortgage industry spent most of the last two years waiting for rate relief that has not arrived. This has caused hesitation for homebuyers looking for a property and existing homeowners looking for a refinance.
For brokers, those who have found success have been able to work with hesitant clients and give them a plan during a challenging market. One broker said that keeping a positive mindset through the headwinds not only has kept business going during this stretch, but has built future business through the customers who were helped.
Trent Hufstetler (pictured top), a mortgage advisor with NEXA Lending, said the difference between brokers who are thriving right now and those who are struggling is not rate access or marketing.
"I think that if you look at the right headlines, you're going to find where the positivity is," Hufstetler told Mortgage Professional America. "There's people who are like, ‘Oh, you know, rates never came down to where we wanted them to.’ But honestly it's still like a really good time for the right people to buy and using the right way to do it."
Using the right tools
One of the tools Hufstetler has been leaning on is seller concessions, which he frames not as a discount on the rate but as a discount on the house. Sellers gave concessions to buyers in 46.2% of US home sales in May 2026, according to Redfin, the highest share on record for that month.
"Sellers are giving concessions," he said. "I show how a seller credit can go towards the rate buydown. They're going to contribute the 3%, and it’s going to go all towards buying the rate down, and you're going to get a percent off of like where the market's at. It's going to make your $500,000 house feel like a $450,000 house just based on where the payment's at.
"Nobody says it in that way. Everybody goes, ‘Yeah, your payment's less, and you're saving money.’ But nobody casts it as the house is being 10% discounted."
He said the broker's job is not to tell every client the market is perfect. It is to figure out who is actually ready.
"I think it comes down to readiness," he said. "You need to work with somebody who's going to give you a proper readiness check and let you leave with a plan if it's not today. Because a lot of people, they look at the headlines in and they go, ‘It's not a good time to buy.’ Well, I don't think it's a good time to buy for everybody. But for people who have your savings and reserves in place, you know your budget, and homeownership makes sense, those are the people who should be buying."
Brokers remaining optimistic
Hufstetler is optimistic about the second half of 2026, and his case is not built on rate forecasts. More clients are reaching the point each month where waiting no longer feels like the obvious choice, he said.
"I think that we're going to start to see the right clients are going to be like, ‘All right, I've had enough. I do need to buy,’” he said. “And I feel like every year that goes by, when we stay in this rate range, we start to acclimate a little bit more to it versus everyone thinking, ‘When are rates going to hit 2s again?’"
He said the brokers who benefit most from that shift are the ones who kept working when the files were hard, and kept a positive mindset.
"It’s more important to be the person that somebody can turn to for referral partners to get the tough stuff done,” he said. “Because when rates get better, they’ll say, ‘I know who got me through the tough part.’ It's tough for agents as well, so they need somebody who can get those tough files done."
His message to brokers is to stay focused on the positive opportunities in the market, and not to let the negativity bleed over into productivity.
"When you let the negativity in, you're just doing a disservice to yourself," he said. "When rates are good, I'm going to work hard because now I've got to make up for the times when it's a little thinner. It doesn't change my mindset. Maybe I get better outcomes when rates are lower, but I'm still the same."
That’s where it comes back to mindset for Hufstetler, and what he believes is ultimately the mission for mortgage brokers.
"If you just come from a servitude, ‘I need to help people,’ you're going to do a lot better," Hufstetler said. "The ones that mitigate the negativity, those are the ones that are going to have the most fun, and they're going to enjoy the job better because you look for the positivity."
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