A Huge Number of Homeowners Have Mortgage Rates Too Good to Give Up

GiddyGap@lemm.ee to News@lemmy.world – 353 points –
A Huge Number of Homeowners Have Mortgage Rates Too Good to Give Up
nytimes.com
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Same story as everyone else. Bought pre-covid, refinanced, now sitting pretty. We desperately want to move, but I would have to make like $50k more a year for the same quality of life.

Rent it out or sell it and move. How is it not a wash for whatever u want to buy?

Uhh, because of interest rates. The very thing being discussed here.

I don't know where OP lives or how much their house costs, but a $400,000 home at 3% is around $1,685/month. Same price at 7% is about $2,660/month.

If it were in a more expensive neighborhood, a $1 million dollar home at 3% is about $4,200/month. At 7%, that makes it $6,650/month. Many average houses in California can cost $1.5 million... so needing an extra $50k/year sounds reasonable to be able to move into a similar house.

You have to get a new loan when buying a different house unless you have the money to pay cash. That means you accept the current rate. I wouldn't want to spend an extra grand or two per month on a similar house.