Kevin Leibowitz (pictured top), chief executive officer and co-founder at Grayton Mortgage Inc., told Mortgage Professional America that the New York market was seeing plenty of buyers whose living circumstances necessitated a move, regardless of the outlook.
“Especially in some places in New York, you have people [with] babies in a one-bedroom, two-bedroom, one bath,” he said. “But as soon as the kids start becoming bigger, that just doesn’t work, and you’ve got to do something.
“So interest rates or no interest rates – people are interested in changing their living situation, moving into someplace where they’re looking forward to the school districts. So there’s situational-based life which is, irrespective of interest rates, driving people’s housing choices and all of those being equal, people want to own versus rent. And so we’re still seeing a fair amount of activity.”
Borrowers finding room for optimism in the current high-rate environment
It’s no secret that interest rates are still high, squeezing affordability for many buyers and narrowing the range of properties they can set their sights on.
Still, for those so-called situational-based buyers, moving is a necessity rather than a choice. Leibowitz used the example of having to stop for gas while driving to illustrate the reality for that buying cohort: something that needs to be done, irrespective of whether the price is favorable or steep.
