By: Rachel Spaugh, Marketing Manager at Ivey Homes

Families grow. Life changes. 

We outgrow certain seasons faster than we thought we would. 

As your life changes, so do your dreams. 

Are your priorities keeping pace with your needs?

Three Ways Your 3% Rate May Be Holding You Back

Many people feel stuck in homes that seemed great when rates were low. Saving money is a good priority, but when is it time to put your day to day needs first?

Really picture what was on your mind when you bought that home during the height of the pandemic:

Did you imagine all the ways your lifestyle might change and continue to evolve post-pandemic? 

Did you think you'd be working at home for the rest of your life? 

Did you mean for your past-self to be holding you hostage (potentially for decades) because of a super-appealing, once-in-a-lifetime rate? 

It might be time to cut your current self some slack for things you can't control. Lenders will be sure to let you know when rates are inevitably more favorable for a refinance. In the meantime, let's look at three ways that 3-point-something rate might be draining the lifeblood out of some of your best years.

1. You're definitely out of space.

A low mortgage rate is an amazing thing. But is it costing you more than you realize?

If your family has grown since you scored that amazing rate, you might already be running out of bedrooms, storage, and needed kitchen space. Your low rate can't magically give you more space.

2. You have buyer's remorse.

Your low rate can't fix regrets. It's very common- especially for new or first-time homebuyers- to begin to resent the home that once dazzled them. Daily life is nothing like the daydreams you had while touring!

It can be hard to think through important real-life scenarios when touring a home, especially if you felt pressure to submit an offer and secure a home during the red-hot pandemic housing market.

If you spend most mornings grumbling about how your home is holding you back, it might be time to move on. 

3. The rest of your life has moved on.

Maybe your friends or family all moved. Or you have your eye on a new school for the kids. Perhaps the places you need and want to be are too far away.

Whatever the reason, sometimes the home we loved in one season becomes a cage in the next one. Your low rate can't bring back the past, but it might be keeping you from a better future.

Blast from the (Rate) Past

Let's face it: the 2021/2022 rates were a one-time boon, not a measuring stick meant for long-term use. We won't be getting back to those rates in our lifetimes. It's unrealistic and unnecessary to stay stuck or needlessly suffer because of a false belief that it's unwise to let your family keep moving forward. 

Don't believe this logic? 

Consider homebuyers in 1972: When rates shot up to the 7's in 1972, a homebuyer who locked in there and waited for rates to fall back below the mid-7s would have had to wait until... drumroll... 1992! 

Can you imagine being a homeowner in the 70s thinking that rate will return before your toddler starts kindergarten, but then watching that toddler graduate college before seeing rates that low again? 

Sometimes wisdom is about knowing what the years are worth just as much as the dollars and cents.