How You Can Take Advantage of Rising Rates

Why our housing market is changing and what it means for you.

Interest rates are up, but it’s not all bad news. There are some benefits to higher rates that buyers can take advantage of in our market.

1. There is less competition. Earlier this year, you may have needed to make five or six offers before you finally got a house. That took quick a bit of time and energy and led to a lot of disappointment. While there are still some multiple-offer situations, they are not nearly as common as they used to be.

2. Sellers are offering to cover buyer closing costs upfront. If you can negotiate for this, you can use extra money to pay down your interest rate and reduce your monthly payment. In general, buyers just have more negotiating power in this market.

“It’s still a good time to buy, despite higher interest rates.”

3. Buyers can include contingencies. Now more buyers can include a home-sale contingency in their offer, which is great for move-up or downsizing buyers. It was hard to make these contingencies work before, so this change can open up more options for you. 

4. Buyers can negotiate for more favorable inspections. The typical inspection in Oregon is happens within 10 business days, but we frequently pushed that to seven or six days to stay competitive. Now you have the full 10 days to complete your inspections and also have the right to ask for repairs or credits.

5. Waiving the appraisal contingency is less common. Previously, if the buyer made an offer of $500,000, for example, but the appraiser valued the home at $490,000, the buyer usually had to cover that gap. Now you can simply renegotiate with the seller.

Let me know if you want to talk to a fantastic lender about today’s interest rates. If you have any questions about these benefits or the market in general, feel free to call me. I’d love to help.