Cara Hunt Erickson, Sr. Mortgage Banker, NMLS #834056, licensed in VA & NC

Cara Hunt Erickson, Sr. Mortgage Banker, NMLS #834056, licensed in VA & NC Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group, LLC NMLS 72043

Equal Opportunity Lender

www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org

Helping homeowners with their financing journey.

09/15/2026

Rates are elevated. Buyers are nervous. And the deals are still getting done — because the agents and lenders who know how to structure them aren’t waiting for perfect conditions.

Here are 5 strategies we’re using right now in Hampton Roads to get buyers to the closing table:

1. TEMPORARY 2-1 RATE BUYDOWN The seller funds a buydown that drops the buyer’s rate 2 points in year one and 1 point in year two. On a $350K home at 6.75%, that’s over $350/month in savings in year one. Buyer refinances when rates fall. Best of both worlds.

2. SELLER CREDITS FOR CLOSING COSTS Instead of negotiating a price cut, structure the concession as a credit. Over 52% of sellers nationally are offering concessions right now. Buyer keeps cash liquid and lowers their out-of-pocket at closing.

3. DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE — FOR REPEAT BUYERS TOO Virginia DPA programs are not just for first-timers. Repeat buyers qualify. Finance the down payment, keep the equity from the sale, free up monthly cash flow. VA buyers can stack this with seller concessions to cover virtually all closing costs.

4. NON-QM PRODUCTS FOR NON-TRADITIONAL INCOME Self-employed clients. 1099 contractors. Retired buyers with assets. These buyers are in every agent’s database — and most lenders turn them away. Bank statement loans, 1099 loans, and asset depletion loans exist for exactly this situation.

5. CREDIT & DTI OPTIMIZATION One $300/month car payoff can add $50,000 in buying power. A higher credit score can save $135/month for 30 years. Rapid rescore strategies can move a buyer from “not yet” to “approved” in 30 days.

The buyer who says they can’t afford it right now often can. They just haven’t had someone look at the full picture.

DM me “AFFORD” — or send your buyer to me directly. I’ll find a path, or I’ll tell you honestly if the timing isn’t right. Either way, you’ll know.

Your Monday Market Minute is here This week’s inflation data came in hot — PPI up 5.4% annually, core CPI accelerating t...
09/14/2026

Your Monday Market Minute is here

This week’s inflation data came in hot — PPI up 5.4% annually, core CPI accelerating to 0.3% for the month — pushing the odds of a Fed rate hike higher just days before the September 16 meeting.

Here in Hampton Roads, the inventory gap is widening. Suffolk and Portsmouth attached homes remain the softest segments in the region, and now Norfolk detached is loosening too, jumping from 2.1 to 2.8 months of supply. Well-priced, move-in-ready homes are still holding value — but buyers are gaining real room, especially outside Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.

If you’ve got a buyer sitting on the fence because of this week’s rate jump, swipe to the last slide — the data says waiting hasn’t been paying off here, and there’s a better way to have that conversation.

Save this post for your next buyer or listing consult.

09/11/2026

The national headlines are screaming about inventory. Here’s what they’re not telling you about Hampton Roads.

If you’ve been reading the news lately you’ve seen the narrative building. Inventory is up. Listings are sitting longer. The market is shifting. And between the lines — the whisper that nobody wants to say out loud — is that a correction might be coming.

Here’s what I need you to understand: real estate is not a national market. It never has been.

The data that matters for your decision is not what’s happening in Phoenix or Austin or Tampa. It’s what’s happening on the street you want to buy on — in the zip code you’re watching — in the market you actually live in.

So let’s talk about Hampton Roads.

Yes — listing inventory is increasing here. That part of the headline is accurate. More homes are coming to market than we’ve seen in recent years and buyers have more options than they did in 2022 and 2023.

But here’s what the national story conveniently leaves out:

Buyer activity in Hampton Roads is increasing right alongside it.

When supply goes up AND demand goes up at the same time — that is not a correction. That is a growing market. A correction happens when supply increases and demand falls. That is not what the data shows here.

Hampton Roads has something most markets don’t — a built-in, consistent, year-round buyer pool driven by military PCS orders that doesn’t respond to national sentiment the way civilian markets do. Rates go up. Sentiment dips nationally. Orders still come through. Buyers still need homes on a timeline.

The national headline is written for a national audience. You live here. The local data is what should be driving your decision — and right now that data tells a very different story than what you’re reading in the news.

If you want to know what the numbers actually look like in your specific area of Hampton Roads right now — DM me. Let’s look at real data for your real situation.

The data is shifting — and 2026 is quietly becoming a better time to buy than most people realize. Here’s what’s actuall...
09/10/2026

The data is shifting — and 2026 is quietly becoming a better time to buy than most people realize.

Here’s what’s actually changed:

INVENTORY IS UP.

Supply has risen to 4.5 months nationally — the highest since before the pandemic frenzy. More than half of sellers are offering concessions. Buyers who were losing bidding wars in 2022 and 2023 now have negotiating power they haven’t had in years.

PRICE GROWTH HAS SLOWED. The median existing home price is $429,300 — up just 1.3% year over year. Compare that to the 15–20% annual spikes of 2021 and 2022. Prices are still rising, but gradually. This is stabilization, not a spike.

BUT THE COST OF WAITING IS REAL. On a $400,000 home appreciating at 3.9% per year, waiting 12 months means the home costs $15,600 more. Add the rent you paid while waiting — roughly $25,000 — and the total cost of sitting on the sidelines is over $40,000.

And here’s the part nobody talks about: when rates eventually drop, more buyers flood the market simultaneously.

More competition means higher prices.

The buyers who move before the crowd are the ones who win.

2026 isn’t a perfect market. But it’s a more orderly one — with more inventory, more negotiating power, and sellers who are willing to work with you in ways they weren’t two years ago.



Information is for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon by you. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Not a commitment to lend.

Starting November 2nd, appraisals are changing — and it’s not a small update. New data requirements. More time at the ap...
09/09/2026

Starting November 2nd, appraisals are changing — and it’s not a small update.

New data requirements. More time at the appointment. New expectations for what’s ready before the appraiser walks in.

If you have listings closing in November (or later), you need to know this now — not the week your contract is due.

Join Chris Perry of CMP Appraisals on October 6th at 11am for a straight-talk breakdown of what’s changing, what it means for your transactions, and how to keep your closings on track.

Coffee provided. Seats are limited. Registration link in bio.

09/08/2026

Your seller just agreed to $15,000. Should you take it off the price or take it as a credit?

Most buyers get this wrong.

Here’s the math.

OPTION 1 — $15,000 off the purchase price:

On a $350,000 home at today’s rate, a $15K price reduction saves you about $79 a month on your mortgage payment. $79. A month.

OPTION 2 — $15,000 as a seller credit toward a 2-1 rate buydown:

Your rate drops 2 full percentage points in year one and 1 point in year two. On the same home at 6.75% — your year one payment drops by over $350 a month. Same $15,000. Four times the monthly savings. Over the course of year one alone that’s more than $4,200 back in your pocket. And when rates eventually drop and you refinance — you’ve already saved thousands while you were waiting.

The price reduction feels like the win because the number is visible.

The credit is invisible to most buyers — which is exactly why most buyers leave money on the table in this negotiation. There are situations where the price reduction makes more sense — tight appraisals, large down payments, specific loan structures.

But for most buyers in Hampton Roads right now, especially if cash flow or cash to close is the constraint — the credit wins.

DM me “CREDIT” before your next offer goes in and I’ll run both scenarios side by side for your exact situation.



Information is for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon by you. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Not a commitment to lend. This is not a rate quote and is intended for illustration purposes only.

Your Monday Market Roundup is here! Rates, the data behind them & what’s happening right here in Hampton Roads — all in ...
09/07/2026

Your Monday Market Roundup is here!

Rates, the data behind them & what’s happening right here in Hampton Roads — all in one scroll.

This week: rates hovering in the mid-6% range, a strong jobs report that pushed yields higher, and a growing gap in Hampton Roads between tight detached inventory and looser attached-home supply (Suffolk and Portsmouth townhomes/condos are sitting closer to 4 months of supply — real leverage for the right buyer).

Save this post for your next buyer or listing consult!



Information is for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon by you. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Not a commitment to lend.

09/04/2026

Here are 3 habits I helped my clients change that made all the difference.

1. Ignoring their credit score.
Not because it was bad — but because they weren’t paying attention to it at all. They had no idea what was on their report.

They didn’t know if there were errors. They didn’t know if someone had opened an account in their name. They just assumed it was fine.

Here’s the thing about credit — it’s not something you check once and forget. Errors on credit reports are more common than most people realize. Fraudulent accounts can appear without you knowing. Old collections you didn’t know existed can be sitting there silently affecting your file.

The habit that changed everything wasn’t fixing their score. It was simply staying informed. Checking their report regularly.

Knowing what was on it before a lender looked at it so there were no surprises.

2. Waiting for the “perfect” time.
They were trying to time the market. Watching the news. Waiting for rates to drop. Waiting for prices to fall. Waiting for some signal that never came.

Here’s the truth: the perfect time to buy is when YOU are ready — not when everyone on the internet says so. We ran the numbers, made a plan, and got them into a home they love now. Not someday. Now.

3. Underestimating their buying power.
They thought they needed 20% down. They thought their income wasn’t enough. They thought they were years away from being ready.

Once I actually looked at their full financial picture and showed them the loan options they qualified for — we built a plan that worked with their real budget and their real timeline. Not the imaginary one they’d convinced themselves was the requirement.

The dream home didn’t come from luck. It came from strategy — and from being willing to challenge the assumptions that were quietly keeping them stuck.

If you want to know what habits or assumptions might be costing you — DM me “DREAM” and let’s talk about your specific situation.

09/03/2026

Did your client make $23,000 a year — every single year — just by buying a home?

Because this one did.

Bought: March 2018 — $269,900
Sold: September 2026 — $459,900

That’s $190,000 in 8 years.

$23,750 per year.

Every year. Without asking for a raise. Without a promotion. Without a second job. Just by owning a home in Hampton Roads.

I want us all to share this math more — because this is the conversation that changes how people think about homeownership. This isn’t just about having a place to live. This is a wealth-building strategy that most people are sitting on the sidelines of right now while they wait for the perfect rate.

Their boss didn’t give them a $23,000 raise every year. Real estate did.

And here’s what makes this even more powerful — this is how people reach their retirement goals sooner than they planned. The equity they built in this home didn’t just pay off. It compounded. It grew while they slept, while they worked, while they raised their kids. That’s what ownership does that renting never will.

The buyers who are waiting right now — waiting for rates to drop, waiting for prices to fall, waiting for the “right time” — are missing years of this math working in their favor.

Every year you wait is a year the market is building someone else’s wealth instead of yours.

If you want to see what this math could look like for your situation in Hampton Roads right now — DM me. Let’s run your numbers.

Information is for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon by you. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Not a commitment to lend.

“What if rates don’t come down soon?” It’s one of the biggest questions we’re hearing right now. The truth is that no on...
09/02/2026

“What if rates don’t come down soon?”

It’s one of the biggest questions we’re hearing right now.

The truth is that no one knows exactly where mortgage rates will go next. Markets change, economic data evolves, and predictions often miss the mark.

That’s why we encourage families to focus on strategy instead of forecasts.

A strong plan asks different questions:
• Can this payment fit comfortably within your budget?
• Does buying today move you closer to your long-term goals?
• If rates improve later, would refinancing be an option worth exploring?
• If rates stay where they are, does the purchase still make sense?

Waiting for certainty can feel safe, but sometimes it also means delaying opportunities that fit your life today.

The best decision isn’t based on predicting the market yet rather understanding your own financial picture.

If you’ve been waiting for rates to change, what’s the biggest question keeping you on the sidelines?



Information is for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon by you. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Not a commitment to lend.

Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group, L.L.C. NMLS #72043 (nmlsconsumeraccess.org) is an Equal Opportunity Lender.

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600 Lynnhaven Pkwy #100
Virginia Beach, VA
23452

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