Sometimes, owning a home can become a burden. In fact, close to half of all U.S. homeowners included in a recent Bankrate survey have regrets about their purchase. This week, Bankrate Senior Analyst Mark Hamrick talked about the findings with Audacy.
According to the survey, 45% of homeowners said they have at least one regret about the purchase of their current home. Around 42% said that maintenance and other “hidden costs” of homeownership have been surprisingly expensive. Hamrick noted that 30% of the 1,363 homeowners surveyed also said their house was either too large or too small.
“This is a situation where well in a perfect world we all get a little wiser as we get older and more experienced and home owners are basically saying… I wish I had known then what I know now,” he explained.
Regrets about a home purchases might hit even harder in the current economic environment. Hamrick explained that it is a “big hill to climb these days,” to buy a home due to high interest rates and a nationwide rise in home prices. With these stressors, homeowners might already be spending quite a bit before “hidden costs” kick in.
Even if they have regrets, Hamrick also said that research shows that many homeowners who were able to get lower interest rates are “essentially taking part in the so-called lock-in,” to keep those rates.
“You know, the average 30-year fixed rate mortgage this week, according to bank rates, 6.88%,” Hamrick said. During the COVID-19 pandemic, rates were much lower – around 3%, per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Some of the homeowners who are locked in have been taking on renovation projects, said Hamrick. However, even those projects are being impacted by the economic climate, including the current state of economic uncertainty.
“In a world where there’s a higher degree of consumer dissatisfaction and uncertainty about the future, I think we’re seeing some people cutting back on those renovations,” Hamrick told Audacy.
As for when mortgage and interest rates might go down, he said it is hard to tell. The Federal Reserve Bank decided to keep rates flat this month, though it is possible that they will lower them later this year, though President Donald Trump’s tariff plan might keep them high.
“I would say that the only thing we can really bet on is what we know today,” said Hamrick. “Trying to predict tomorrow is very difficult.”