09/17/2026
๐จ The Fed raised rates today.
If you have a few minutesโฆ. ๐
before everybody runs screaming from the housing marketโฆ
Can we talk about what that ACTUALLY means for mortgage rates?
Because hereโs something a lot of people donโt realize:
Mortgage rates donโt sit around waiting for the Fed to make an announcement.
Markets are forward-looking.
When investors believe a Fed move is coming, that expectation can start showing up in longer-term interest rates โ and therefore mortgage rates โ BEFORE the Fed ever walks up to the microphone.
So todayโs Fed hike does NOT mean someone simply added another .25% to your mortgage rate this afternoon.
Mortgage rates have already been moving.
Now for the part nobody particularly wants to hear:
Are mortgage rates great right now?
Nope. ๐
Iโm a Realtor, not a magician, and Iโm not going to stand here and tell you 7-ish percent feels amazing.
It doesnโt.
But hereโs the part I think people are missingโฆ
Sometimes the โbadโ market creates the opportunity.
For BUYERS, higher rates have pushed some people to the sidelines.
And if youโre financially comfortable buying right now, that can mean something we havenโt always had much of:
BREATHING ROOM.
๐ก More homes to choose from.
๐ค Less competition on certain properties.
๐ฐ More opportunity to negotiate with sellers.
๐ ๏ธ A better chance at seller concessions, closing-cost assistance or a rate buydown when the circumstances allow it.
And maybe the biggest oneโฆ
TIME.
Time to actually look at a house.
Time to think.
Time to get an inspection.
Time to negotiate.
Time to decide whether you actually LOVE the house instead of standing in the driveway with six other buyers trying to decide how much over asking price youโre willing to offer before somebody else gets it.
Remember that market?
I do. ๐ณ
But SELLERS โ donโt stop reading, because there is another side to this.
Higher rates have slowed buyers down. They havenโt made people stop needing houses.
People still get transferred.
Families still grow.
People still get married.
People still get divorced.
Jobs still change.
Military families still PCS.
And life doesnโt wait around for a 5% mortgage rate.
And hereโs something interesting:
The buyers who ARE out looking right now often arenโt out there because buying a house sounded like something fun to do this weekend.
Theyโre looking because theyโre ready โ or because life says itโs time.
And despite years of higher mortgage rates, home prices nationally havenโt fallen off a cliff. Home values have proven remarkably resilient.
Does that mean you can slap any price you want on your house and somebody will buy it?
Absolutely not. ๐
THIS market will punish an overpriced house.
But a well-prepared, properly priced home can absolutely sell.
And sellers have something else worth considering:
If youโre waiting for rates to drop because you think THAT will be the perfect time to sell, remember what could happen on your side of the equation too.
Lower rates could bring more buyers back.
But they could also convince a whole lot of homeowners with low existing mortgage rates that itโs finally comfortable enough to sell.
Meaning you could have more buyersโฆ
AND more competition from other sellers.
Thatโs the part of real estate nobody can perfectly time.
And buyers, the same thing applies to you:
If mortgage rates eventually make a meaningful drop, youโre probably not going to be the only person who notices.
The people sitting on the sidelines are watching too.
More buyers can mean more competition.
So there isnโt necessarily one magical โperfectโ market.
Sometimes you get the better rate.
Sometimes you get the better price.
Sometimes you get better terms.
Sometimes you get less competition.
And sometimes the biggest advantage is simply being willing to move when everybody else is waiting for someone to announce that itโs officially safe.
Iโm NOT telling everyone to run out and buy or sell a house because rates are high.
Some buyers absolutely should wait.
If todayโs payment doesnโt comfortably work, it doesnโt work. Period.
And some sellers arenโt going to get the number they need in todayโs market.
Thatโs reality too.
But if your only reason for doing nothing is:
โIโm waiting for the market to get betterโฆโ
We should probably define what better actually means for YOU.
Because the market that gives you a lower interest rate may give you more competition.
The market that gives a seller more buyers may also give them more listings to compete against.
And the market everybody hates?
Sometimes thatโs where the opportunity nobody is talking about lives.
Real estate has never been about finding a perfect market.
Itโs about understanding the market youโre IN โ and figuring out whether thereโs an opportunity in it for YOU. ๐ก
If youโve been sitting on the sidelines โ buyer OR seller โ and want to know what the numbers actually look like right now, letโs talk.
No pressure.
No pretending rates are wonderful.
No doom and gloom either.
Just real numbers, real options, and a real conversation about whether making a move makes sense for you.
