If mortgage rates are rising, why are more people trying to buy a house?

Laith Daik of Texas Loan Star Mortgage explains. "We have seen an uptick already in interest rates. When you see rates trending UP, it gets people more interested in their housing market - because they want to lock in before the rates go up further. So it is creating a lot of buying and selling activity." Mortgage rates are going up in March and Daik says buyers under 35 are a part of the push. "Younger people who were on the sidelines, have been leasing for so long, are coming out in droves being an important part of the demand increase." With more demand for the same inventory, Daik says prices continue to creep up.

Daik says the competition is fierce. "There's not enough inventory to satisfy the appetite of the current Greater Houston Marketplace. We are seeing properties going on the market, getting multiple offers and getting bid up." Daik says many who were renting in the past have joined the throngs, trying to get their own piece of property before mortgage rates grow even higher. National mortgage experts are saying panic buying is not out of the question.

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