{"id":68,"date":"2026-10-01T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/?p=68"},"modified":"2026-10-01T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T10:00:00","slug":"us-starter-buyers-gain-leverage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/01\/us-starter-buyers-gain-leverage\/","title":{"rendered":"US Starter Buyers Gain Leverage"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"video-zmyer\">\n<div class=\"video-frame-zmyer\">\n        <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.roomvu.com\/agent\/embed\/seabea-ghoph\/starter-home-leverage-3ac1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><br \/>\n        <\/iframe>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"video-description-zmyer\">\n<p>I\u2019m seeing some real shifts in the starter-home market this season. First-time buyers are finally gaining a bit more leverage\u2014more choices, fewer bidding wars, and real room to negotiate. It\u2019s become normal to ask for seller credits, closing-cost help, rate buydowns, repairs after inspection, longer inspection periods\u2014even the occasional inclusion of appliances or furnishings. Homes in top condition and priced right still move fast, but if a listing sits or needs some work, it can open doors for buyers to negotiate on price and concessions. Affordability remains tough with average 30-year mortgage rates near 7% through Q3 2026, but for buyers who are prepared, there\u2019s less frenzy and more opportunity to make smart, strategic moves. Staying focused on your savings, credit, and long-term budget is key\u2014my approach is always to help ensure that your next step in homeownership actually strengthens your financial picture.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019m seeing some real shifts in the starter-home market this season. First-time buyers are finally gaining a bit more leverage\u2014more choices, fewer bidding wars, and real room to negotiate. It\u2019s become normal to ask for seller credits, closing-cost help, rate buydowns, repairs after inspection, longer inspection periods\u2014even the occasional inclusion of appliances or furnishings. Homes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":69,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70,"href":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68\/revisions\/70"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seabea.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}