Millions are debating about selling but hesitate because of their rate and millions are debating buying but hestitate because of the rates. That is the wrong way to thing about life, money, and your home. Whenever you’re moving, the APR shouldn’t be your greatest determining factor but your LIFE should be. Your happiness, your quality of life, your future, your present, your kids, your future kids, your ability to live a full life should absolutely be the biggest reason you move or don’t in a home. That’s why so many are stuck in the wrong home to begin with; they bought because of rates instead of needs. Stop doing that!!

If you’re a potential buyer in the market and worried I understand because the rates are high. I bought in January at 7% and it hurt but it was the best decision I ever made because the home I sold at a 4% rate last August could never bring the freedom, space, happiness, land, view, and quality of life that this one as brought us. The house was cheaper but payment the same even with a bigger down, but it absolutley was the smartest change for us. We went from being central to everything and pracitcally in a downtown locale to move out rural but we were able to get a home four times the size with character and acreage, the kids all have their own rooms that are huge, plus playrooms, a home theater, a huge yard and swing set, multiple other rooms for family use, and such a beautiful location around us. We don’t have buildings and businesses around us but we have our own forest, views, and a huge house that gives me a nice sized gym, home office, spare rooms for guests, and more. THAT is why we moved. Our interest rate never determined our move; life did. Our future was our greatest reason for moving. If your home doesn’t suit you, don’t keep it! Spending thousands on a place that doesn’t fit your needs or happiness, no matter how good the rate, is just silly and it’s going to ruin your life and happiness very soon if it’s not already. Choose you over rates every time.

The reason to not sell could also come down to equity and total net gain. That is absolutely a reason to wait on the market more than rates. Let’s say you purchased two or three years ago at a 3% rate and now you’re realizing your home isn’t going to be as suitable as the homes on the market but your total equity gain is “only” $100k. Well, do the math. If you list, you have agent fees, closing costs, taxes, and closing costs on the house you buy, lending fees for that new house, down payments, and such for your next home purchase also. Before you know it that money is gone. Even if you listed as a For Sale By Owner FSBO you have to then pay title, escrow, and real estate attorneys on your own which is practically the same cost, and sometimes you still have to pay a buyer’s agent or you won’t get showings, and then you have closing costs for this house and your next. After all that, what is your available down payment to purchase a new home and what will that leave as your payment? Will you even have enough for a decent down payment? These are the numbers you should be running.

THIS is the number that matters: Net Proceeds. After all is said and closed, how much did you make (hopefully not lose) to make the move happen? For some a loss or break even is worth it if other circumstances have also changed and the move or sale is necessary. For me, as another example, if I were to sell because maybe my husband hates the longer commute to work, or my teenage son who is now working also doesn’t like being so far from the college and work, etc or we want to be closer to better schools because we don’t like these ones anymore, those are legitimate reasons to sell and move for my family that far and wide supersede whatever rates are doing right now. Those are matters of family, future, quality of life, and practicality that are most important above anything else. Let’s say all of those are topics of discussion in our home in 2025 and we are discussing if this house really makes sense after all despite how much we love it. The factors I need to consider from a numbers standpoint are how much net will I have after buying and selling for the move that I can have left over for the down payment of the next house.

When we bought in January, we had a $236k down payment and paid the rest for everything else. We got some seller concessions and our all in after selling our previous home was $251k. We made I think $268k but had other costs to buying and selling and paying things off, so fast forward to this new house. We saved on PMI because our house was half paid off already and we financed $211k. To sell and see that money ever again, we’d need to sell our house for a profit again and enough to get that money back also. Basically, if we were to move again, we would not sell unless all of our moving and closing expenses from selling here and buying somewhere else would still leave us with $300k as a down payment on the next house and we can buy a $500k house which is a very nice home where we are now. We just don’t want to LOSE money and it’d be nice to have even more down and even less in a payment. What you need to focus on is what you will GAIN, not lose in terms of interest rates. Have standards for the home itself when deciding to move and focus less on that rate. That is exactly how you got into a house that doesn’t work to begin with. If you keep buying, or not, because of rates, you’ll always be in limbo and never where you want your life to be because the rate has nothing to do with what the home provides for you. Stop moving for rates and move for life.