Brokers urged to get creative

Higher interest rates, which are now hovering around 6.5%, are playing a major part, too, as the cost of a mortgage has shot up.

He cited the case of a borrower who pre-qualified in March but then “put the house hunt on hold”. Last weekend, she told agents she was back on the market and wanted to put an offer in a pre-qualification after seeing ‘the perfect house’.

However, she found that her payment was now dramatically higher and she couldn’t qualify. She was able to get the loan only after agreeing to cosign with her fiancé.

Despite the difficulties, Schachter insisted there is still a housing market worth fighting for. “Even though interest rates are higher, we still need a place to live,” he added.

“I say marry the house, date the rate. You don’t have to be on a fixed rate forever, but if you love a home and you can see your family living there and you can afford it and it’s not going to make a big dent in your financial ability to pay it back, buy the house.”