1 in 3 Homeowners Say Nothing Will Entice Them to Give Up Their Low Rates

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Best Interest Financial and Clever Real Estate survey shows 35% of sub-6% homeowners won’t sell, 47% can’t afford today’s rates, and inventory remains stuck.

One in three homeowners with a rate under 6% say they wouldn’t give it up for any reason.

It’s not just your imagination. Plenty of sellers still have rates below 6% locked in. And the majority of them? Not budging. 

Not without a life-altering motivation, anyway. And sometimes not even then.   

According to a recent survey of 1,000 mortgage holders from Best Interest Financial and Clever Real Estate, a large share of homeowners are holding tight to the rates they locked in during the pandemic era.

Inventory feels tight. Listings aren’t showing up the way they used to. Even when homeowners talk about moving, a lot of those conversations stall out before anything actually happens.

This goes beyond a simple supply problem. Mortgage rates and affordability pressure are shaping how people behave right now. They’re more likely to dip their toe in the market, shiver, and put their socks right back on again. Figuratively speaking. 

Most homeowners are sitting on rates they can’t replace. Nearly half don’t believe they could afford to buy again at today’s rates. More than half say they have regrets about how they handled their last mortgage decision.

Put all that together and you get a market where people are a lot more cautious about making a move, especially one that could make their monthly budget even tighter. 

Here’s what the data shows.

The Lock-In Effect Is Freezing Inventory

There’s a reason inventory still feels tight, even in a market where demand has cooled. A huge share of homeowners are sitting on mortgage rates they have no interest in giving up.

Right now, 76% of mortgage holders have a rate below 6%, and 41% are locked in below 4%. 

These are the kind of rates people know they won’t see again anytime soon. Today’s market is sitting above 6.4%, and that’s enough to shut down a lot of potential moves.

And that’s exactly what’s happening.

• 35% of homeowners under 6% say they wouldn’t give up their rate for any reason

• 48% say they refuse to sell right now because of their low rate

• 61% of homeowners under 3% say the same

• 87% say they plan to stay put over the next two years

• 67% don’t want to sell for at least five years

• 35% say they never want to sell

For a lot of homeowners, the decision comes down to protecting a financial advantage that feels impossible to replace.

You can see it in how homeowners are adjusting their expectations. About 44% say they’ll stay in their home longer than they originally planned. Another 20% say they feel trapped by their mortgage.

When people feel stuck, they stop exploring options. They stop engaging with the market. They wait.

Even when the house no longer fits, many are choosing to stay anyway.

• 14% would stay despite bad neighbors

• 13% would stay in a home that no longer meets their needs

• 11% would stay in a home in poor condition

From an agent’s perspective, this explains a lot of what you’re seeing right now. Listings are low in part because many homeowners see a move as a financial downgrade.

Until that gap between existing rates and current rates narrows, or life forces a decision, a large share of homeowners will keep doing the same thing. Staying put.

The Affordability Gap Is Driving Fear and Inaction

Even when homeowners think about moving, a lot of them stop at the same place. They run the numbers, and the numbers don’t work.

Nearly half of borrowers with rates under 6%, 47%, say they couldn’t afford a mortgage at today’s rates. That one stat explains a lot of the hesitation you’re seeing. People aren’t just choosing to stay. Many feel like they don’t have a real alternative.

The gap shows up even more clearly when you look at homeowners who bought at higher rates.

• 26% of borrowers with rates of 6% or more say their mortgage is unaffordable

• 9% of borrowers under 6% say the same

• 10% of all homeowners say their mortgage is their biggest financial stressor

For homeowners dealing with higher rates, the pressure spills into the rest of their financial life.

• 63% say they’ve made sacrifices to keep up with payments

• 50% say their mortgage has impacted major life decisions

• 44% have reduced retirement savings

• 28% worry they may need to change jobs to afford their mortgage

You can feel the strain behind those numbers. This isn’t just about budgeting. It’s about people reshaping their lives around a monthly payment.

You can also see that pressure in how people feel about their financial stability going forward.

• 45% of high-rate borrowers say their finances have worsened since buying

• 68% don’t expect their finances to be stable over the life of their loan

• 76% don’t feel prepared for future increases in taxes or insurance

• 60% say they couldn’t comfortably make payments if their income dropped

When you layer all of that together, hesitation starts to make a lot more sense. Homeowners who locked in low rates don’t want to give them up. Homeowners with higher rates are already stretched.

From an agent’s perspective, this is where deals start to fall apart. Buyers stall or pull back. Sellers hesitate. Everyone is trying to avoid making a move that puts them in a worse financial position.

Right now, affordability is as much about confidence as it is about pricing. 

Regret, Confusion, and Second-Guessing Are Everywhere

A lot of homeowners are sitting still because of rates. Many are also carrying the memory of how their last decision played out.

More than half of borrowers, 59%, say they weren’t well informed about their mortgage options when they bought. And 52% say they have at least one regret. 

Those numbers reflect how people are approaching the market today. They’re slower to act. They question more. And they’re more likely to pull back from an agent who doesn’t understand their position or shows negligible interest in their long-term well-being. 

They don’t want to repeat a decision that cost them. 

The regrets themselves are pretty telling.

• 10% say they didn’t shop around for lenders

• 9% say they didn’t buy when rates were lower

• 9% say they didn’t refinance when they had the chance

• 9% say they didn’t negotiate fees or rates

• 9% say they didn’t make a larger down payment

• 8% say they chose the wrong loan term

Listen to those regrets. They tell you what homeowners are still feeling (and anxious to avoid) as they explore their options. 

There’s also a gap in how well people understood what they were signing up for. 

About 11% say their lender didn’t explain the terms of their mortgage at all. At the same time, 63% believe lenders take advantage of buyers who don’t fully understand the process. 

You can see the difference in experience when you compare rate groups. Among homeowners with rates of 6% or more, 69% say they weren’t well informed when they bought. And 75% of that group say they have regrets. 

For homeowners under 6%, those numbers are 57% and 44%.

A lot of high-rate borrowers made their decision under pressure.

• 51% say they accepted a higher rate because they didn’t want to miss out on a home

• 48% say they were worried rates would climb even higher

Now, many of them are looking back and questioning that decision.

• 28% of all borrowers say they’ve questioned whether their mortgage was the right choice

• 43% of homeowners with rates of 6% or more say the same

This is the part of the market that doesn’t show up in inventory data or pricing charts. It shows up in hesitation and longer decision timelines. 

Buyers and sellers alike want to be absolutely sure before they move forward. 

They want an agent who gets that and who understands how to help them feel confident they won’t regret it later. 

And if they sense you’re acting in your interests rather than theirs, they’ll walk. 

What This Means for Agents and the 2026 Housing Market

Start with what’s happening on the inventory side. A large share of homeowners have no reason to sell right now. Many have a strong reason to stay put.

• 76% of homeowners have rates below 6%

• 48% of those homeowners refuse to sell because of their rate

• 87% plan to stay in their home over the next two years

• 67% don’t want to sell for at least five years

• 35% say they never want to sell

For this group, it’ll take a meaningful change in rates or a major life event to move them.

Now look at the other side of the transaction. Buyers and sellers are both carrying a level of hesitation that didn’t exist a few years ago.

Sellers are anchored to the rate they already have. Buyers are anchored to what they feel they can afford. Both are trying to avoid making a decision that feels like a step backward financially.

This translates into longer decision time and more deals that fall apart when something leaves either side feeling disoriented or uncertain. 

Every number gets scrutinized. Probably more than once. 

There’s also a generational layer that agents need to pay attention to.

• 84% of boomers have rates below 6%, compared to 64% of millennials

• 47% of boomers are below 4%, compared to 30% of millennials

• 17% of millennials say their mortgage is unaffordable, compared to 10% of boomers

• 62% of millennials say rates have affected their housing decisions, compared to 41% of boomers

Millennials are feeling the pressure more directly. Many are working with tighter budgets and higher rates. Boomers are more likely to stay where they are by choice, with 42% saying they never want to sell.

Looking ahead, there are only a few things that are likely to unlock movement in a meaningful way.

• A drop in mortgage rates, even though 69% of homeowners don’t expect a return to pandemic-era lows

• Major life changes like relocation, divorce, or growing families

• Refinancing opportunities, with 63% of homeowners open to it and 45% saying rates would need to drop at least 2 percentage points

For agents, this means you’re working in a market where people need clarity and reassurance before they act. 

The agents who do well in this environment will focus on helping clients understand their options. Clarity and transparency throughout the process are not optional. Help your clients make decisions based on their life situation instead of waiting for perfect conditions. 

Even when the best decision for them is to stay put for now. 

Key Details:

• Best Interest Financial and Clever Real Estate survey shows 76% of homeowners have rates below 6%, with 35% unwilling to sell at any price and 87% planning to stay put.

• Nearly half (47%) of low-rate borrowers say they can’t afford today’s rates, while 26% of high-rate borrowers say their mortgage is already unaffordable.

• More than half (52%) of today’s homeowners report mortgage regret, rising to 75% among those paying 6% or more.

 

Housing Market - April 8, 2026 - Sarah Lentz

 

https://nowbam.com/1-in-3-homeowners-say-nothing-will-entice-them-to-give-up-their-low-rates/

 

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