Advice to clients in the current climate remains the same as when interest rates first spiked in 2022, according to Rebecca Richardson (pictured top), a Charlotte-based broker licensed in over 10 states. “Buying a home is always still a personal decision,” she told Mortgage Professional America. “Of course, we’d always like to pay less for things but if the timing is right, if [the buyer] can afford the payment, it’s about the hard math of buying a house.”

Nor have the questions borrowers should be asking themselves changed significantly, Richardson said: namely, whether the purchase makes sense and fits their budget, and whether it would meet the purpose of their buying a home.

Plenty of would-be buyers decided to hold back on their purchasing plans as rates shot upwards after 2021 – but while some held out hopes that borrowing costs would plunge again, Richardson said a growing acceptance is emerging that rates won’t hit the rock-bottom lows again of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I think reality has set in,” she said, “because you can get the house, you can lock in the price of the home and the rate can be fixed later at some point with a refi.”

Mortgage demand saw a modest boost last week, with applications rising 1.7% despite the continued climb in interest rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.https://t.co/RHgQmr5stS#mortgagetrends #mortgageapplication #housingmarket

— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) November 20, 2024

Buyers increasingly unmoved by news of rising rates

The recent jump in rates may have dissuaded some potential buyers about pushing ahead with a move, but others are approaching the market with a bullish attitude and the realization that there’s never a perfect time to make a purchase, according to Richardson.