Mortgage rates are going to be sticky. A good solution for buyers is to do a 2/1 buydown on their rate today. They get the benefit of lower-than-market rates for the next year or two while waiting to refinance once rates drop – and if they don’t drop, at least you get the 5.99% in this example:
A recent example: the buyer negotiated a $100,000 discount on a house priced in the $2 millions. Then he took a $60,000 discount on the price, and had the seller apply $40,000 towards a rate buydown to get a program similar to the one above!