BE BOLD: WHY NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY

Warren Buffett famously advised investors to be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. The same logic is often applied to homebuyers in 2026. Rates are higher than in the pandemic years, and many buyers are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for them to fall. For buyers who can afford a home today, the bigger risk is not the rate — it's the cost of an indefinite wait.

Here's what I tell clients across Pennsylvania: today's rates aren't the bargain of early 2021, and they're worth taking seriously. Mortgage rates have moved in wide ranges over the decades, and the rock-bottom loans of early 2021 were an outlier, not the norm. Whether today's rate is a good fit depends on your own budget and goals, not on how it compares to any past era.

That's the choice before you: make an informed decision at a rate you can afford, or keep waiting for conditions that feel more comfortable. Home values can rise, flatten, or fall, and no one can guarantee what any market does next. In areas like Wayne, PA, demand has generally stayed strong over time, but past patterns don't promise future results. Decide based on what a home costs today and what you can genuinely afford.

How today's rates compare to the past

Most buyers look at today's mortgage rate and call it high. By some historical measures it is, and by others it isn't — rates have run both above and below today's levels across different decades. What feels like a penalty is really a return to a more typical rhythm after the unusually cheap money of the early 2020s. Whether today's rate is right for you depends on your own budget, not on how it compares to any era.

For context, buyers in the 1980s faced double-digit rates that today look extreme. Many bought anyway, and some refinanced when rates eventually dropped. The lesson isn't that rates always fall — it's that buyers who found a home and a payment they could live with moved forward on their own terms. A rate you can afford now is a rate you can build a plan around, whether you refinance later or not.

The real cost of waiting is appreciation

Home prices in desirable areas have historically trended upward over long stretches, but those are past patterns, not future guarantees. Markets can and do soften, and each local area behaves differently. No one can promise that prices will keep rising or hold steady — values fluctuate, and appreciation is never a sure thing. What you can control is the purchase price you agree to today.

Now put that in Wayne, PA terms. No one can tell you what any home will cost a year from now — values can rise, hold steady, or decline. What you can control is the price you agree to today. And the difference between borrowing at today's rate versus waiting a year for a marginally lower one may not offset any change in price, in either direction. Decide based on what a home costs now and what you can afford to pay.

Marry the house, date the rate

There's a saying in this business — marry the house, date the rate. The idea is simple: pick the home you want, and treat your mortgage rate as something you might revisit later rather than a permanent lock. Your home is the asset you keep; your rate is the financing terms attached to it.

Refinancing may be an option down the road, but it isn't guaranteed. Whether it makes sense for you depends on future market conditions, your eligibility, your home's equity, and the costs involved. Rates could fall, but they could also hold steady or rise. The honest framing is that buying today doesn't lock you into today's rate forever, but it also doesn't promise a lower one later — refinancing is a possibility to evaluate when the circumstances arise, not a plan to count on.

There's also the affordability question I hear constantly. If you're qualified for a loan now, don't let a slightly higher rate talk you out of the home you've been saving for. The right move is to get a pre-approval and see what you may qualify for, rather than guessing based on headlines.

Every month you rent, you build someone else's equity

This is the part of homebuying people often weigh against renting. As you pay down a mortgage, your principal balance shrinks, and the portion of the home you own — your equity — can grow over time. Equity also rises or falls with the property's market value. Renting, by contrast, builds no ownership stake. But homeownership carries costs renters don't face: property taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs, and the risk that the home's value may not rise — or may fall.

Renting has tradeoffs too. Every rent payment covers your housing for that month, but it doesn't build ownership, and you may face rent increases over time. Homeownership builds equity through principal repayment and any change in value, but that equity isn't automatic — it depends on how prices move and how long you hold the home. Neither path is universally better; the right choice depends on your finances, your timeline, and your goals.

That's why acting now may make sense for you even if the rate isn't your dream number — but only if you can afford the home and its ongoing costs. The bold move isn't reckless; it's calculated. Buy within your means, with a rate and total payment you can manage, and let any equity growth build over the years you live there. And be honest with yourself about the costs and risks of ownership along the way.

What to do next

Being bold doesn't mean being careless. It means making an informed decision instead of waiting for a perfect market that may never arrive. Start by getting a pre-approval to understand what you may qualify for. A pre-approval is an estimate of potential qualification based on the financial information you provide — it isn't a commitment to lend and it doesn't guarantee closing, and it's not a determination of what you can personally afford. Use it as a starting point, then weigh what a home in Wayne, PA costs today against your own budget and goals.

I work with buyers across Pennsylvania on a range of loan types, including FHA, VA, Conventional, and jumbo loans, and I can help you understand which path fits your situation. Rates and terms are subject to change, and all loans are subject to underwriting approval.

Edwin Santiago, Originating Branch Manager | NMLS #133618 — CrossCountry Mortgage. Contact me with questions.

FHA: CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC is an FHA Approved Lending Institution and is not acting on behalf of or at the direction of HUD/FHA or the Federal government.

VA: CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC is not affiliated with or acting on behalf of or at the direction of the Veteran Affairs Office. Certificate of Eligibility required for VA loans.

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