The home sales market has been up and down over recent years, but the ups in mortgage rates have put many people in a bind, including those who want first homes and those who bought hoping to refinance when rates came down.
Because rates never did come down, some of those planning to renegotiate their homes are now considering a conversion to a variable-rate mortgage, others are trying to pay down principal to lower monthly payments, but others are simply considering selling.
One real estate expert says, "There's an old saying that 'You marry the house and you date the rate,' and that used to work when rates would come down, but we haven't seen rates below 6% since September 2022. And it's setting in that this might be our new normal."
Selling may not be the best option, Houston real estate expert and Equity Angels cofounder Kenya Burrell Van Wormer says, because keeping a home can at least build principal even if monthly payments are too high, but the days of relatively low interest mortgages may be over.
And "Houston is probably one of the best places to buy a home right now," she says.
It's a good time to buy if you're a first-time homebuyer and you can qualify for a mortgage.
"There's more inventory than we've ever seen, people are willing to move to give up equity and it's a great place for someone who wants to buy a home, with the understanding that interest rates kind of are where they are right now.
It's really the first-time home buyers who are feeling the squeeze right now, with the average age of a first-time buyer at 38 (way up from 28 about ten years ago), people are waiting longer because they simply can't afford to get in.