Waiting-Game Fever: Focus on the long run

If you were thinking about buying a house in 1972, but decided to wait until interest rates came down...you would have continued renting and waiting for 22 years!

In that time...

•  A home purchased in 1972 would have quadrupled in value

•  A mortgage from 1972 would be 73% paid off

•  And a 22 year wait only saved 3 quarters of a % in interest!

In 1972, an average rate was 7.54%, and there wasn't a drop until 1993! And even then it was brief and only dropped to 6.74%. Yikes!

What's crazy is that in that 22 year wait, the rates crept up to 16% in the 80s! The average home value in ’72 was $27k, and by ’93 it was $126k. Anyone is welcome to play the waiting game, but a person who waited in 1972 clearly missed out.

History proves that home values in the long run will continue to increase, and history also proves that interest rates should not stop you from becoming a homeowner. Refinancing is an option if interest rates go down. But you can't go back in time and buy a home at a 1972 price.