During the pandemic, many home buyers — as well as homeowners who refinanced their loans — attained exceptionally low mortgage rates. As of the third quarter of 2023, an estimated 60% of homeowners reported that they had a mortgage rate below 4%, and more than 20% had a rate under 3%, according to a Redfin analysis of data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
If you’re a homeowner with a rock-bottom mortgage rate and you’re looking to move, now could be a good time to purchase a new home and turn your current home into a rental property. Or, if you’d rather stay put, you could take some of the equity you’ve built up in your home and buy an investment property. Although rents decreased slightly in 2023, the national median rent is still almost $250 per month higher than it was three years ago, hitting $1,379 last December, according to Apartment List.
