With interest rates going up from the lowest in 30-year history of 3% to 7%, many people sentimentally feel that this is not a good time to buy a home and are postponing home buying decisions until after interest rates drop down.
Let me explain why this is a wrong way to think about buying a house and why now is a great time to enter the real estate market.
Reason #1 is that interest rates in your lifetime will never going to be as low as they were during pandemic.
Federal Reserve’s response to COVID-19 crisis was to lower interest rates to near 0% in order to support the economy during the pandemic. This cheap money approach was the main reason for inflation that forced the Fed to increase interest rates in order to bring the inflation back to normal. Obviously, we don’t expect this magnitude of crisis to return any time soon.
Reason #2 is that high interest rates are causing some buyers to step back, with others choosing to wait for more favorable interest rates.
This benefits today’s buyers,
because there is less competition for the current supply of houses in the market and it puts you into a better position to get the house that you like and want.
Reason #3 is that he rise in interest rates has led to a decline in home prices across various markets in the United States.
Median sales of houses sold in the US in 2023 is 13% less expensive than in 2020. You can buy a home today for less money than before the pandemic.
Reason #4 is that we are still in an environment where housing supply and inventory remain limited.
Home builders are not building enough housing for variety of economic reasons. With low inventory, with no substantial new housing coming up when interest rates will go down, there will be more buyers than houses for sale.
Reason #5 is that as interest rates start to go down, a lot of other people will jump in, leading to multiple offers, resulting in higher prices.
The minute mortgage rates will drop and come to a five in front of it, the world is going to jump back again into the real estate market. As a result, there will be multiple bids to buy a house and house prices will go up by 10% or even 15%. And there is no way that you can make up for the excess that you will have to pay in order to get the house vs the higher interest rates you pay today. The higher interest rates you pay today is short term and in the next couple years
you will be able to refinance for a lower rate. When you pay more for the house, you will never get a discount on that.
The bottom lines is that you end up much better off buying at lower price, higher interest and refinancing when interest rates go down.