Anyone from Gen X or the Boomer generation can tell you; we bought homes with rates between 13% and 18%. We didn’t love it, but we made it work because home prices were realistic.

Today, it’s a different story: the issue is inflated housing prices, not interest rates. Just look at the data: mortgage delinquencies are rising, and not because buyers locked in at 7%. It's because they’re stretched too thin on homes that are priced far beyond what local incomes can sustain. And when rates are artificially lowered, it only fans the flames ... fueling bidding wars, overinflated values, and another unsustainable housing bubble. Even homeowners with fixed-rate mortgages aren’t immune.

Escrow payments are climbing fast due to skyrocketing property taxes and insurance. In some markets, property taxes alone have increased 50% in the last five years. That means even a “fixed” monthly payment isn’t really fixed; and for many, absorbing the increase upfront simply isn’t an option.

Here’s the hard truth: salaries have not kept pace with inflation, and that’s the pressure point. It’s not about the rate ... it’s about affordability. And as affordability cracks, delinquencies rise. We’re already seeing what we saw in 2005–2006: growing inventory, hesitant buyers, and signs of a market correction.

As a Realtor, I know that for many, real estate is a path to building wealth. I support that. But wealth built on inflated home prices doesn’t last, because if wages don’t keep up, the buyer pool shrinks. That dream home that made you feel wealthy on paper? It won’t mean much if only a small fraction of the population can afford to buy it. I’ve sold homes through buyers’ markets, sellers’ markets, and balanced markets for over two decades. This isn’t a prediction ... it’s a pattern. And we’re repeating it, step by step.