Most listing launches take two to three weeks. This one took four days.Last Sunday, I met a seller for the first time at his home in Lake Stevens. He was relocating, the house was empty, and he
What’s Actually Going On With Buying a Home in 2026
You’re probably seeing a lot of noise right now about how hard it is to buy a home. If you’re in the market, you’re feeling it too. Buying today just feels heavier than it did a few years ago, and there’s a reason for that.
If you’re buying right now, you’re coming in at a different starting point than someone who bought even three or four years ago. All that really means is that new buyers are carrying a higher monthly cost compared to existing homeowners.
Right now, buyers are spending around 26% of their income on housing, while existing homeowners are closer to 20%. That difference comes down to two things, rates are higher and prices didn’t really reset the way people expected. Most current homeowners are sitting on rates in the 2 to 3 percent range, so they’re not moving unless they absolutely have to. That keeps inventory tight, and when inventory stays tight, prices don’t have much room to fall, especially in areas like Seattle where demand is still strong.
At the same time, the monthly payment just feels different than it used to. It’s not only the mortgage, insurance has gone up, property taxes have adjusted, and maintenance costs are higher across the board. So even when a home looks similar on paper to something that sold a few years ago, the actual cost of owning it today is higher, and that’s where most buyers feel it.
What I’m seeing right now is that buyers haven’t disappeared, they’ve just become more deliberate. They’re paying closer attention to the monthly, they’re adjusting on location or condition if needed, and they’re taking a bit more time before making a decision. But the serious buyers are still moving, and in a lot of cases they’re making better decisions because they’re actually thinking things through instead of reacting.
Where people tend to get stuck is on timing. Waiting feels like the safe move, but it only works if a few things line up at the same time. Rates would need to come down, more inventory would need to hit the market, and prices would need to stay relatively stable. If rates drop, more buyers jump back in, and that usually puts pressure right back on prices. So instead of trying to guess the perfect moment, it makes more sense to look at whether a purchase works for your situation over the next few years.
The approach matters a lot more right now than it did in the past. Structuring the deal around the monthly payment is key, whether that’s through a rate buydown, seller credits, or the right loan setup. At the same time, it’s smart to look at refinancing as a potential upside, not something the deal depends on. And when the market feels uncertain, that’s often when opportunities show up, because fewer buyers are willing to step in and compete.
At the end of the day, yes, it’s more challenging to buy right now than it was a few years ago. There’s no way around that. But that doesn’t make it a bad move, it just means the margin for error is smaller and the need for a clear plan is higher. The buyers who are doing well in this market aren’t trying to outguess it, they’re making decisions based on their numbers and their timeline.
If you’re trying to figure out whether it makes sense for you, that’s really the conversation to have. Not whether the market is good or bad, but whether the move works for you based on where you’re at and where you’re going.
