Back when mortgage interest rates were 3% - 3.5%...

10:00 AM - new listing hits the market

10:10 AM - drive by

10:11 AM - text Realtor to set up showing

1:30 PM - walk through the house

1:55 PM - get kicked out by the next buyer in line to see it

2:30 PM - make an offer on the house (90% chance you'll make one)

Home buyers didn't have to think very hard at all about whether to make an offer on a house they liked because their mortgage payment would be pretty darn low given historically low mortgage interest rates at the time.

Now a days, with mortgage interest rates of 6% - 6.5%...

10:00 AM - new listing hits the market

12:15 PM - drive by

12:30 PM - text Realtor to set up showing

(next day)

10:00 AM - walk through the house

4:00 PM - talk through the mortgage payment details with lender

(next day)

9:00 AM - make an offer on the house (33% chance you'll make one)

Buying a $350K house (for example) is a big decision!

Buying a $350K house can seem like a smaller decision with 3.5% mortgage interest rates.  It's only a $1600/month mortgage payment given a 20% down payment.

Buying a $350K house can seem like a really big decision with 6.5% mortgage interest rates.  It's a $2,115/month mortgage payment given a 20% down payment.

As noted in the comparison above, buyers are still making decisions relatively quickly -- but they're thinking things through a bit further -- and they're not always choosing to make an offer.

These higher mortgage interest rates do impact the market, even though they haven't caused home prices to drop in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.