Why Interest Rates Shouldn’t Deter You from Buying a Home

There’s a saying in real estate that comes to mind when mortgage rates start making the news: “Date the rate, marry the mortgage.” It may sound a little funny, but there is wisdom in that saying. To me, it’s about seeing the big picture of what you really want in a home. After all, interest rates go up and down over time, but your home is the one constant. In fact, interest rates have probably changed in the time it took you to read this paragraph. 

There are always creative workarounds to higher interest rates, like taking out a five- or seven-year adjustable rate mortgage that you simply refinance when rates are lower. That comes with risk, of course. “Date the rate, marry the mortgage” is a smarter, more holistic way to approach home buying. It provides a lens to examine what we want in a home compared to what we can afford. Sure, we all want to get the most home for our family and for our money, but if we base our decision too heavily on something as fluid as interest rates, our expectations will be skewed.  

My suggestion is to take a step back and ask “what do you really want for your family?” Does it make sense to scale back just a little bit and not max out your home budget? The truth of the matter is that many of us want so much that the only way can manage it is to package it all together when rates are low enough to get our payment down. 

Start by picking the best neighborhood possible (location, location, location) and then back into what you can afford there. Interest rates are just a piece of that equation; they shouldn’t stop you from moving forward. Backing in is an honest assessment of what home you can afford based on current interest rates and the many other factors in your life. It’s about choices, sacrifices, and priorities. We may not get every single thing that we want when we want it, but we can still improve our situation without waiting for an external factor to change that we have no influence over. 

Whether interest rates are in the news because they’re high or low, don’t let today’s hyper-sensitive, fast-paced, social media soaked environment make you feel forced to react. Rates will go up, rates will go down, as they always do. A home is where life happens, families grow, and memories are formed. Interest rates shouldn’t get in the way of those. Low interest rates are clearly an advantage, but if you choose to build a home when interest rates are higher and you’ve done as I suggested, you will likely find yourself happy in a new home that you can afford and enjoy sooner than later. And when rates drop, refinancing makes the mortgage that much easier. 

Watch the video below to learn more.

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