January 2026
Coming off mortgage interest rates around 3% and watching them climb above 7% over the past couple of years has been a hard pill for buyers to swallow. And the impact didn’t stop there—it affected the entire real estate market.
As rates rose, competitive offers slowed, buyer confidence softened, and many buyers stepped back altogether. Between higher home prices and higher borrowing costs, a significant number of people simply felt priced out. I saw this shift very clearly in 2025.
As we move into 2026, I believe many buyers are beginning to accept an important reality: interest rates are not going back to 3% anytime soon. Rates have been hovering closer to 6%, and heading into the spring market, the best-case scenario may be somewhere around 5.5%.
So the question becomes: how much does waiting really matter?
Let’s look at a simple example using a $100,000 mortgage:
At 7%, principal and interest is approximately $665/month
At 6%, it’s about $600/month
At 5.5%, it drops to roughly $568/month
Even at 5%, it’s around $537/month
Yes, there is a difference—but is that difference enough to keep you from buying a home altogether? Or could waiting cost you more in lost opportunity, rising prices, or limited inventory?
I’ve found myself thinking about this same concept in the stock market. If I miss buying a stock at $50 and it moves to $52, do I sit on the sidelines hoping it drops back to my ideal number—or do I step back and ask whether the long-term value still makes sense? Sometimes waiting for “perfect” means missing out entirely.