October is here... ghosts and goblins oh my...

Well the last quarter is officially here, college football is underway, candy is all around us and I actually heard a Christmas Carol yesterday. Soon ghosts and goblins will be knocking on the door asking for treats... but we have tricks right now.

My personal goblin is called interest rates... if you think being a loan officer is easy, try to help people who can not afford to buy since rates went up. They were qualified a year ago, but not today... and I have to break the news to them. 2 years ago they could buy the home of their dreams and today... well they thought they were getting a new Mercedes and they are buying a used Yugo.

OK, it may not be that bad, but so many people have seen their buying power plummet. But there is a couple facts that we should not forget.

• 2 years ago people were saying "I am going to wait for home prices to come back down before I buy.
• People were not willing to go over asking to get a home in contract.
• Buyers were walking away from contracts over minor remedy issues.
• They walked away from rates in the 3% range.

Ask them how that worked out for them? Now I don't mean rub there face in it... but they thought they were smarter than everyone who bought a home... and now prices have not dropped and rates have doubled. They missed the window of opportunity.

There is a saying I hate that gets thrown around... "you marry the house but date the rate." It is often very true though, and I believe we as an industry need to share it and share it again. Facts...

• If you buy the house today you lock the price in, and as home values continue to rise you gain wealth when you sell.
• You gain the tax breaks and other benefits when you buy.
• You start building equity for yourself when you buy, not your landlord.
• You can refinance if rates come down.
• If homes continue to appreciate, if you wait to buy in 2 years you likely will have a higher payment, even if rates come down, which is not guaranteed.

Most of us think rates will come down, but are we sure? With Washington doing their best to screw up the economy there is certainly no guarantee, especially in the next 12-18 months. Some say home values will fall, but at least in Central Ohio there is little or no sign of that.

Real estate has its goblins... but housing is a basic human need and paying rent is 100% not building your wealth, is costing you tax breaks and lets your landlord control you with rent increases and telling you what you can and cannot do with your home.

Higher rates suck... but home ownership is still the best way to go... and refi when and if rates come back down.