On September 16 the Fed raised its benchmark rate to a range of 3.75% to 4%. That is the first hike in more than three years. The 30 year fixed mortgage jumped to 7.19%. If you own a house in DFW and you have been waiting for rates to fall before you sell, the market just told you no. Here is what that actually means on the ground in The Colony.

Did the Fed really raise rates in September 2026?

Yes. On September 16 the Federal Open Market Committee voted 12 to 0 to raise the benchmark rate by a quarter point to 3.75% to 4%. It is the first increase since 2023, and the projections point to the possibility of one more this year. The Fed does not set mortgage rates directly, but the direction it signals moves them. Within days the 30 year fixed pushed to 7.19% on the daily trackers, up more than a full point from a year ago. Freddie Mac's weekly survey, which lags, put it at 6.95%.

What does a 7.19% mortgage do to a DFW buyer?

It shrinks the buyer pool for your house. On a $400,000 loan the difference between 6.5% and 7.19% is about $185 a month. Over a year that is $2,200 out of a buyer's budget. Buyers do not absorb that. They drop their price ceiling. So the same house that drew five offers last spring now draws one, and that one comes in under ask. DFW is already feeling it. The median single family price sat at $404,900 in July, down 1.7% from a year earlier, and homes are taking a median of 62 days to sell.

Why does this squeeze The Colony sellers specifically?

Because higher rates freeze the trade up market that The Colony runs on. Most sellers here are not just selling. They are buying the next house too. When your next mortgage costs 7.19%, moving gets expensive, so fewer people list, and the buyers who remain get pickier. Right now you can see the split in the 75056 listings. A clean 1995 two story at 3,281 square feet is asking $565,000. A dated 1978 ranch at 1,433 square feet is asking $325,000. The retail buyer will fight over the first one and walk right past the second. If your house needs work, you are competing for a buyer who no longer exists at your price.

Is a cash sale the right move when rates rise?

Only if speed and certainty are worth more to you than top dollar. A cash offer is always below retail. That is the trade. What you get for it is no financing contingency, no appraisal, no 62 days of showings, no repair demands after the inspection blows up the deal. When rates rise, financed deals fall apart more often, because the buyer's payment moves while they are under contract. A cash close does not care what the Fed does next week. If you have time and a house in retail shape, list it. If you have a deadline, a tenant, a probate, or a house that needs $40,000 of work, cash starts to look a lot smarter than it did in the spring.

What did I actually pay on a recent The Colony deal?

I closed a house at 5849 Baker Dr in The Colony for $315,000. The after repair value was $475,000. Here is the real math, no games. My chain is ARV times 0.80 minus rehab. That is $475,000 times 0.80, which is $380,000, minus about $65,000 in repairs, which lands at $315,000. The $160,000 gap between my price and the ARV is not profit. It covers the rehab, the holding cost while the money is out, the closing costs on both ends, and the margin that makes the risk worth taking. The seller got a firm number in 24 hours and closed on their date. They traded some price for zero uncertainty, and with rates climbing, that was the right call for them.

Should you sell to a cash buyer or list it?

List it if your house is retail ready, you can wait out more than 60 days on the market, and you do not need a guaranteed close. You will net more that way, and I will tell you that to your face. Sell for cash if you are staring at repairs you cannot fund, a payment you are behind on, an inherited house two states away, or a market where rising rates are thinning your buyer pool by the week. The honest answer depends on your situation, not on which one sounds better in a headline.

The bottom line for The Colony

Rates went up, buyers got weaker, and the market is tilting away from sellers who need to move. If you have got time and a clean house, ride it out. If you do not, get a real number before the pool thins further. I will give you a written cash offer on your The Colony house within 24 hours, no obligation and no repairs required, at callahanhomebuyers.com. Investors, if you want to see the off market DFW deals I am buying at these numbers, join the buyer list at callahanhomebuyers.com and I will send the next one your way.

Caleb Callahan is a licensed Texas agent (TREC License 837919). Need a written cash offer in 24 hours? Visit callahanhomebuyers.com or call (214) 226-1193.