09/17/2026
Mortgage rates are up again… but hear me out, because that may not be all bad news if you’re thinking about buying. 🏡
The Fed raised its benchmark rate by .25% today, bringing it to 3.75%–4.00%. And just to clear up something I hear a lot—the Fed raising rates does NOT mean mortgage rates automatically went up .25%. Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors and the market had already been anticipating today’s move.
Now, am I going to sit here and tell you we love 7% mortgage rates? Absolutely not. 😂
BUT… there is another side to this.
Higher rates tend to cool off the buyer pool. And fewer buyers competing for homes can mean MORE negotiating power for the buyers who are still in the market.
That can look like:
• A better purchase price
• Seller-paid closing costs
• Repairs or credits
• Seller concessions to help buy down your interest rate
• And a whole lot less of the crazy multiple-offer situations we’ve seen before
Personally, I’d rather help my buyers negotiate a great deal on the RIGHT house, get some money from the seller toward their closing costs or rate buy-down, and potentially refinance later if rates come down… instead of waiting for rates to drop and finding ourselves right back in a market where everybody wants the same house.
Because remember—you can potentially refinance an interest rate later. You can’t go back and renegotiate what you paid for the house.
So if you’ve been sitting on the sidelines waiting for the “perfect” interest rate, don’t let the rate be the ONLY thing you’re looking at.
The entire deal matters.
And there may be more opportunity out there for buyers right now than you think. 🏠🌊
Heidi Barlow
Broker | REALTOR® | RSPS | Crystal Coast Native
your local home girl at the coast
