Your follow-up beats your rate this week; lead with the FHA/VA discount

The marketing conversation worth having this week isn't the rate — it's your follow-up. HousingWire published an analysis of more than a million calls showing that intent-based targeting, better context on who you're calling, and using a local phone number measurably lift contact and appointment rates. That's a more durable edge than any single rate headline: the LOs winning right now aren't the ones with the lowest rate, they're the ones who actually reach the lead. If your CRM is still blasting the same cadence to every contact regardless of where they sit in the journey, that's the gap to close this week.

On rates, the backdrop firmed slightly — the 30-year ticked up to about 6.61% today and is holding in the low-6.6s, flat over the past month, so "rates are dropping" is not the honest message right now. The fresher, more useful number is the spread: FHA and VA loans are pricing around 6.25%, roughly 35 basis points under a standard conventional loan, which on a $400K balance is close to $90 a month. For first-time and veteran buyers who've only ever been quoted the headline 30-year, that gap is a genuine reason to reach out — and it sidesteps the credibility trap of pretending rates are falling when they aren't.

The tactical build this week is a simple "which loan is actually cheaper for you" comparison — a 30-second video or one-page graphic that puts the conventional, FHA, and VA payment side by side on a real loan amount. It's evergreen for as long as the government-loan discount holds, it gives your agent partners something concrete to share with first-time and veteran buyers, and it pairs naturally with the smarter follow-up cadence above: the borrowers who open it are signaling intent, which is exactly the list that earns a personal call rather than another automated email.