09/17/2026
Yesterday I talked about the Fed and what a rate hike can actually do to your wallet. Today, let’s talk about the part that matters to real estate.
And first, let’s clear something up.
The Fed rate is NOT your mortgage rate.
The Fed can raise or lower its rate, but your 30-year fixed mortgage doesn’t automatically follow it up or down by the same amount. Mortgage rates are driven largely by the bond market and other economic factors.
So if you already have a fixed mortgage, your payment didn’t change yesterday.
HELOCs, credit cards and other variable-rate debt? That’s a different story.
But here’s what I really want buyers and sellers to think about…
Buyers — please don’t get stuck waiting for the rate you wish you had.
A few years ago, a lot of people decided to wait for rates to come back down. And I completely understand why. We had those incredible 2.5% mortgage rates, and it was easy to think, “Surely we’ll see those again.”
But while people were waiting for the rate, home prices didn’t wait with them.
Some buyers who started looking years ago are now five years behind on their home purchase. They didn’t get the 2.5% rate they were hoping for, and the homes they could have bought back then may cost considerably more today.
That’s the part of the conversation that gets left out.
A lower interest rate doesn’t automatically make a more expensive house a better deal.
I’m not telling anyone to buy a house they can’t afford. Please don’t do that.
I’m saying if you’re serious about buying, sit down with your lender. Pull out that old preapproval. Look at your income, payment, cash available and what you actually want and need in a home.
Then ask a simple question:
“What makes sense for me right now?”
Not what rates might do.
Not what the market might do.
What works for you today.
Sellers — this is where you have to be realistic.
Your house is worth what the market is willing to pay for it today.
Not what you need to make.
Not what your neighbor got six months ago.
Not what you think it should be worth.
And every day you are overpriced, you are losing money.
You’re carrying the house. You’re paying taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance and possibly another mortgage. And you’re also losing the most valuable thing you have in a sale:
Time.
The market is telling you something when buyers aren’t responding.
You can either listen to it or keep waiting for the market to magically agree with your price.
The real estate market isn’t about finding the perfect rate or the perfect price.
It’s about understanding the numbers, understanding the market and making a smart decision based on where things are going, not where you wish they were.
A good agent will price based on comps.
An experienced, knowledgeable agent will price for the future.
