Jamie Reece
Owner/Managing Broker | Reece Homes Team | Keller Williams
Mortgage rates are back above 7%. Waiting for a lower rate can make sense, but home prices rarely wait with you. Enter your plans below to see how buying now and refinancing later compares with waiting, using real King and Snohomish County data.
| At the moment the waiting buyer buys | Buy now, refi later | Wait |
|---|
Buy-now advantage (in thousands) across different price growth and wait times, at your target rate. Green means buying now and refinancing comes out ahead; red means waiting comes out ahead. Your scenario is outlined in gold.
| Sept 2023 rate / King median | 7.20% · $775,000 |
| Aug 2024 rate / King median | 6.50% · $860,000 |
| King median change | +11.0% |
| King pending sales, Sept '23 → Sept '24 | 1,833 → 2,321 (+27%) |
A buyer who waited 11 months for 0.7% off their rate paid roughly $85,000 more for the median home. Smoothing for monthly noise (3-month averages), prices still rose about 8.6%.
More homes to choose from, longer market times and room to negotiate. Leverage like this tends to fade quickly once rates drop and buyers return.
Want us to run your exact numbers with a lender?
Talk with Reece HomesFor illustration only; not financial, tax or legal advice. Payments shown are principal and interest only. "Head start" compares each buyer's equity minus everything they spent (down payment, mortgage payments, ownership costs and refinance costs for today's buyer; rent for the waiting buyer) at the date the waiting buyer purchases. It assumes today's buyer refinances into a new loan at your target rate when it arrives, and does not include purchase closing costs (similar for both buyers), interest earned on savings, or tax effects. Future rates and home prices are uncertain and may differ from any forecast. Refinancing depends on credit, income and equity at the time. Market data: Northwest Multiple Listing Service® via InfoSparks © 2026 ShowingTime, all property types, through September 2026; mortgage rate: Freddie Mac 30-year fixed average, week of Oct 1, 2026. Historical growth rates are compound annual changes in the monthly median sale price.
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