I used to sell real estate in Seattle. In my opinion, my belief was that the best time to buy was when rates are really high.
The reason is simple: People don’t buy a price. They buy a monthly payment. It means High interest rates are good for the buyer in several ways:
1. The price of the house is low (relatively speaking).
2. The interest part of the loan may be high enough to positively impact your taxes.
3. When interest rates drop, you can re-finance, sometimes saving hundreds or more per month.
If you buy when rates are low it means:
1. If rates go up, it will negatively affect the price of your house.
2. The interest part of your payments will have less positive impact on your taxes.
3. Little if any hope of your monthly payment ever going lower.
Forgot number 4 on the first list: when interest rates drop, prices increase, meaning your house could go up in price significantly.
I agree with that. Another set of facts supporting your premise is the price of homes in Texas. If you look around the DFW metroplex you find you can get a lot of home for the money. Some of that is the price of prairie land, but another huge factor is the high property taxes in that area.