08/17/2026
Everybody keeps telling me the same thing: I’ll just wait until rates hit 5 percent, then I’ll buy.
I get it. It sounds smart. So I stopped guessing and ran the actual numbers on a real Temecula home.
Here is what the wait quietly costs. When rates finally drop, every buyer who was sitting on the sidelines comes rushing back at once, and prices jump. That same 750,000 dollar home becomes about 795,000. While you waited and rented, you spent around 54,000 with nothing to show for it and zero equity. The buyer who bought today built roughly 55,000 in equity in the exact same window.
The honest move is simple. Buy the home now if the numbers work for you, and refinance later only if rates actually fall enough to make it worth it. You are buying a home you can afford today, not betting on a rate nobody can promise.
Right now inventory is up, so you still have room to negotiate. That leverage disappears the second rates drop and the crowd comes back.
I broke down the full math, with the real Temecula example, on the blog: https://ownandprosper.com/should-you-buy-a-house-now-or-wait-for-lower-mortgage-rates-to-drop/
Want me to run your real numbers, your price, your down payment, your timeline? Comment NUMBERS and I will send them. No pressure, just the math.
Rory Ellis
Prosper Real Estate
DRE 01884546
