Buying still the best option

COLUMBIA BASIN — Jennifer Kron a broker with Moses Lake Realty Group said it still makes more sense to purchase rather than rent, despite the increase in mortgage rates, a housing shortage and rising home prices throughout the Columbia Basin.

“It’s our job to educate the community and educate the buyers and remind them that it is still the best investment of your life to purchase real estate,” said Kron.

She also said Moses Lake has not been very affected by interest rates because it is still affordable to live in Moses Lake compared to cities like Seattle and Spokane.

What the rates affect is the buyer’s payment, Kron said, which makes it slightly harder to find a home in the buyer’s budget.

“If they’ve owned their house for more than five years, chances are they’re going to make more than $100,000 off of their house,” Kron said. “And so they can take that and use it as a down payment for their new place and they can get that payment down to where their house that they just sold was and have a little bit more equity in a house.”

She also noted how the money people make off their houses can be life-changing. Some people will use the money they make off the house to pay off debts, especially high-interest debts, and can be in a better place financially to put more money towards a bigger house or things that they want.

She said the housing shortage is the biggest problem buyers are currently facing but that it still makes more sense to buy rather than to rent.

“Interest rates change, you can refinance, but you still need a roof over your head and that is still your very best investment,” Kron said.

According to a real estate report card for Grant County compiled by Movement Mortgage and sourced from U.S. Census Bureau and National Association of Realtors data, of the roughly 95,000 population in the county, 41,000 are renters and 10,000 of those renters can afford to purchase.

It also shows that while Grant County’s unemployment rate is still higher than the national average of 3.6%, it has dropped from 8.81% in 2020 to 4.03% in 2022. Employment has also risen from just less than 40,000 in 2012 to more than 45,000 in 2022.

Angie Knutson branch manager of Movement Mortgage in Moses Lake said the increase in rates has only slightly affected the number of customers they see but agreed with Kron’s mention of the housing shortage being the biggest issue.

“The housing shortage is driving the prices right now so what you’ll see is that interest rates as we go through the recession will decrease,” said Knutson.

The housing shortage is not just a Moses Lake, Grant County or Washington State issue, Knudson said - it is a nationwide issue.

Knutson referred to the saying, “Marry the house, date the rate.” She explained that people should buy the house they want because they can always refinance their rate later on when rates decrease.

“Committing to the house doesn't mean you have to commit to the financing available now forever…. And if rates only get worse, then you'll be glad you married the house when you did,” Knutson said via social media recently.

Rebecca Pettingill may be reached at rpettingill@columbiabasinherald.com.