Should We Buy When Mortgage Rates Continue To Surge

1. Don't waste time comparing. If you're distressed that interest rates have gone up so much in the last two years, try to let go of that. Rates were in the high teens in the 1990s when the economy was booming and people bought a lot of properties back then. Everything is relative at this moment, so don't lose sleep over what would have happened if you bought a house in 2016 because that isn't going to help your situation. Instead, take stock of what you have now and what you're hoping to accomplish.

2. Will rates go down? Sure. We don't know when or by how much, but rates will always rise and fall depending on the strength of our economy. We're still working through a year-long battle against inflation, so the current situation is not the new normal. That said, it'll take a minute for rates to adjust and it might be a while before they get significantly lower. They could certainly go up more before they come down. We might be on the precipice of an extended run of really high APRs. None of us should be in the business of predicting the future, because that's not a realistic way to make smart financial decisions. The minute you let guesswork inform your homebuying, you're putting yourself at risk.

3. Think about your buying power. While high mortgage rates cost you in the long run, it doesn't affect the amount of money in your bank account. Do you have a downpayment ready to go? Can you buy and flip a home to build up some equity and buy a bigger house? Are you paying too much in rent and need to find an alternative? Interest rates are just one of many factors for someone looking to buy a house. It's easy to get scared off by the thought of spending extra thousands of dollars, but if you really want to buy a house you should always be thinking of ways to make that happen.