Residents who had low mortgage rates when they bought their homes say they feel locked in with those rates, now that home mortgage rates are increasing.
“My rate is under 3% mortgage, and because of that, I’m really hesitant to sell,” said Lindsay Chase.
Chase bought in Fort Lauderdale’s Victoria Park neighborhood in 2020.
She’s one of the few lucky ones still locked in with a low rate, which has become somewhat of a double-edged sword.
“I have such a good interest rate now, and it’s not really in my best interest to buy another property to essentially double the interest rate,” Chase said.
According to data from Homes.com, in the second half of 2025, more homeowners had mortgages with rates at or above 6% than those with loans below 3%.
The website looked at data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency that shows this is the first time we’ve seen this since late 2020.
“The majority of homeowners are at 6% now,” said realtor Justin Brooks.
Brooks said the lock-in rate has been problematic for the market.
Homeowners sat on the sidelines – they didn’t want to sell and lose the low interest rate for a higher one, which impacted inventory.
But now, as we see a shift, along with mortgage rates expected to drop this year, he said things could change.
“As those rates come to those mid-5’s and high-5’s at the end of the year, you’re going to see a slight uptick in inventory. Those lock-in effects, as we saw in the last course of a few years, they’re going to gradually and slowly dissipate,” Brooks said.
That’s what Chase is waiting for. She said even a percent or two on the mortgage rate makes a big difference.
“So I’m really looking forward to the rate dropping, that’s what is projected, and then I would consider potentially selling this property to get something a little bit larger and a better return,” Chase said.
According to the National Association of Realtors, just a 1% decrease in mortgage rates, which is what’s predicted this year, could add about 5.5 million households nationwide to the pool of potential buyers.
