Why Waiting on Rates Isn't the Safe Move for Columbus Buyers

Rates crossed 7% last week. Freddie Mac's 30-year average hit 7.03% on September 24, up from 6.95% the week before, and my phone lit up the way it always does when a headline number rolls over. Almost every call came down to the same idea: "We're going to wait until things calm down."

I understand that instinct, and I'd never tell anyone it's foolish. But after more than 3,700 closings with my partner Chris Beal, through more rate cycles than I'd like to count, here's what I believe: waiting is not the neutral, safe choice people think it is. It's a decision with its own price tag. That price just doesn't show up on a rate sheet, so most people never see it until they've already paid it.

The Real Number

The Rate Is a Headline. The Payment Is Reality.

When rates move from the high 6s into the low 7s, it feels enormous. On a $300,000 loan, a jump of roughly a third of a point adds about $70 a month in principal and interest. That's real money, and I won't pretend otherwise. But it's not the cliff the headlines make it sound like.

The buyers I see struggle most are the ones who anchor on a specific rate, "I'll buy at 6.5," instead of a payment they can comfortably carry. Rate-anchored buyers decide slowly. In a market this tight, slow decisions lose houses to people who did the math differently.

The Hidden Cost

Columbus Prices Aren't Waiting With You

This is the part that gets skipped. The median sale price in Central Ohio climbed to $350,000 this summer, and inventory is still thin, with under three months of supply. That's a seller's market by any definition.

Now run the other side of the "wait" math. If Columbus values rise just 3% while you're on the sidelines, a $350,000 home becomes a $360,500 home. You'd be financing more, putting down more, and paying more every month on the bigger balance. A modest rate drop can be erased entirely by a modest price increase, and nobody can promise you the rate drop. The Fed meets again October 27–28. I don't know what they'll do. Neither does anyone else.

What Gets Missed

The Loan Type Matters as Much as the Rate

Most rate-shock coverage talks about "the rate" as if there's only one. There isn't. Conventional loans pushed past 7% this month, while FHA and VA averages have sat in the mid-to-high 6s. FHA has run roughly 30 basis points below conventional for most of the year.

That doesn't make FHA automatically cheaper. It carries upfront and ongoing mortgage insurance, and for some borrowers that insurance lasts the life of the loan. But for buyers with credit scores in the 580 to 680 range and less than 10% down, FHA often wins on total cost. I've watched the "more expensive" option turn out cheaper over a five- or seven-year horizon more times than I can count. You don't know until you model both.

Move-Up Buyers

Your 3% Mortgage Isn't a Prison

A lot of the people on the fence aren't first-time buyers. They're homeowners holding a 3% or 4% loan from 2020 or 2021, wondering if they're crazy to give it up. You're not crazy. The math really is harder. But harder isn't impossible. Renting out your current home, bridge financing, and assumable loans on the home you're buying are all real options. The most expensive assumption I see is that sell-then-buy is the only path.

Where I Land

Buying a Home Isn't a Bet on Rates

I'm not telling anyone they have to buy right now. If the payment doesn't fit your life, don't force it. What I am saying is that "wait" deserves the same scrutiny as "buy." Ask three questions: Can your budget carry today's payment? Are you being quoted the right loan type? And how long will you stay? If you're planning on seven years or more, the home you're building equity in matters far more than the rate you started with.

And if you already have a quote in hand, get a second opinion. Freddie Mac's research found that buyers who shop multiple lenders can save $600 to $1,200 a year, and the spread between lenders gets wider when rates are elevated. Comparing quotes isn't disloyalty. It's stewardship of your own budget for the next 30 years.