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I am an avid walker. I have been walking for exercise since I was in my early twenties. The trend in those days was aerobics. Aerobics is any exercise that is designed to strengthen the heart and lungs. I am of the number who really enjoy walking. Since my maiden name is Walker, I always said I was born to walk. Walking has helped me to meet many people that I would otherwise not ever have the opportunity to meet. Just the other day I was walking in my neighborhood. One of my neighbors, Chara, was also out walking her dog. I had the opportunity to speak with her for a few minutes. Chara and her husband live in an 800-square-foot condo with one bath and one bed on the second floor. Not long ago they acquired a lovely and friendly dog named Hazel. My neighbor is pregnant now and talked to me about the housing adjustment that would need to be made after the baby is born. Eight hundred square feet was beginning to seem crowded with Chara, her husband, and the dog not to mention the expected new baby boy. Chara knows that I am a Real Estate Specialist so she asked me if I thought interest rates would go down or up in the near future. Since that is far from my expertise because I am not a lender, I answered her question, “For sure I don’t know but I hope that it would go lower.” As I spoke with her my mind went back to when my husband and I bought our second house in 1981 when the interest rate was above 18%. We needed a home, so we found a home and got a loan (all for which we were grateful), so now the choice is: do we remain in the tiny home that we lived in (less than 1200 square feet) with five children and 2 adults or do we step out and do what had to be done? We were able to get the owner to finance some portion of the mortgage at 10% interest, but the main mortgage was financed at 18%. The problem in those days was the same as it is today: inflation. The Feds raised the rate to slow the economy in the period known as The Great Inflation. Of course, as inflation slowed, the mortgage rates were lowered to an average of around 10%. In the 1990s we bought our 3rd home. The mortgage rate at that time was about 8-9%. I don’t remember the exact loan that we took but once again, we needed a new home. This time we were moving to a new state, so we took the loan with gratitude for being able to supply what we needed for our family. So now when people complain about 6%-7% interest rates it draws my attention. Especially when the rates went so low because of something that was not natural and that is the COVID pandemic. We took out a line of credit on our home in 2008 at 6% and that was low at that time.

Why am I sharing all of this? Today the national mortgage interest rate for a 30-year fixed loan is around 6.8% according to my source. Of course, everyone is expecting the mortgage rates to go down but to be honest, we really don’t know. My advice to the average home buyer is the same as I would give my family. If you have to take out a mortgage, go for it because who knows what tomorrow brings. If it goes higher, the move was genius. If the interest rate goes lower, simply refinance at a lower rate. To sit and wait to see what the interest rate is going to do would depend upon how much you need that new home. There are also other factors that might disappoint. One of those factors is home prices. I don’t think homeowners will sit and wait at the same sale price while you wait to see which way the interest rates will go. Do what you have to do at the time when the need arises. Of course, you have the right to disagree with my assessment of this subject but it’s pretty critical that you weigh the options and think through what you need to do based upon supply and demand. In other words, you need a home. The prices of homes today are lower because the interest rates are higher. But whenever interest rates go low, home prices will also increase. Add to that: The competition for each home is intense as the interest goes lower which may cause you to pay more than you want to pay. Think about it!