Is Mortgage Rate Your #1 Factor When Buying?

Question

Quick question for the community:
When buying a home or investment property, is the mortgage rate your top priority? Yes or No — and why?

For me, it’s a No. Rates matter, but I care more about cash flow, location, and value-add potential. A great deal can still make sense at a higher rate — especially if there’s upside.

Curious what others think. What’s your #1 dealbreaker?

Stuart Udis · Answer

I believe the saying goes "you date your interest rate but marry your purchase price". It's normally when rates are low that you see irrational buying behavior because too much focus is mistakenly  placed on the interest rate/monthly payments. Although owner occupants are likely most susceptible to falling for this trap since most base their decision making and home search on their pre-approval amount which is directly tied to interest rates.

When it comes to investment real estate focus shoulds be on property fundamentals and equity creation. That's how you build wealth in this business. Just look at all of the distress that's being caused by debt maturing with historically low interst rates.  There's a lot of factors that influence owner occupancy purchases beyond simply the economics so its difficult to say there is a right decision. That's going to be very much dependent on the buyer.