By Gerardo Lopez | Associate Broker, RE/MAX Properties
If you’ve been thinking about buying or selling for a while now — months, maybe years — and you still haven’t pulled the trigger, I want you to know something: that’s completely normal.
Buying or selling a home isn’t a snap decision. It’s a process. Sometimes it takes a while for the timing, the finances, and the motivation to all line up. And sometimes, after thinking it through, you decide that staying put is the right call. That’s fine too.
But here’s what I see more often than I’d like: people who stay stuck — not because they decided, but because they never got the information they needed to decide.
I’ve heard this one since 2016. Then 2018. Then 2020.
I worked with a buyer a few years back who was convinced prices had to come down. Every time we found something he liked, he’d say “let’s wait a few more months.” He was shopping in the low $300s. By the time he finally pulled the trigger, that same price range was mid $400s. He didn’t get a crash — he got priced into a smaller house in a neighborhood he liked less.
If you’ve been waiting for a crash for five or ten years, your price anchor is stuck in a market that doesn’t exist anymore.
Anything above it feels unreasonable — but that feeling isn’t data. It’s just the gap between where you thought the market would go and where it actually went.
Had a seller who wanted to wait for peak pricing. Totally understandable — everyone wants to sell high. And they got their wish. Prices went up.
But here’s what they didn’t plan for: when their home was worth more, so was everything else. They sold for a strong number, but now they were shopping in a market where every other buyer was doing the same thing. More competition. Faster timelines. Less room to negotiate. And depending on when they bought their replacement, rates had moved too — so their monthly payment on the new place was higher than they expected, even with more equity in their pocket.
Selling high sounds great until you realize you’re also buying high. The win isn’t the sale price — it’s the spread.
This is the one I hear most right now. And it makes sense.
If you bought in 2020 or 2021, you probably locked in somewhere in the 2s or 3s. You’ve built solid equity. Your payment is comfortable. Why give that up?
Here’s the tradeoff most people don’t think through: yes, your next rate will be higher. But you’re also sitting on a lot more equity than you had when you bought. That equity becomes your down payment on the next place — and a bigger down payment offsets the higher rate more than most people expect.
Say you owe $220K on a place that’s now worth $380K. That’s $160K in equity working for you. Put that toward your next home and even at today’s rates, your payment might land closer to where you thought it would than you’d think.
It’s not about whether rates are higher. It’s about whether the move makes sense once you factor in the equity, the payment, and what you actually need out of your next home.
Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn’t. But you won’t know until you run the numbers.
If you’re buying today, yes — rates are up compared to a couple years ago. But here’s the other side: home prices have come down in a lot of areas. Inventory is sitting longer. Sellers are more flexible on price, closing costs, and concessions than they’ve been in years.
The median price has stayed just about where it’s always been when you zoom out. What changes with every cycle is the mix — higher prices with lower rates, or lower prices with higher rates. The monthly payment tends to land in the same range either way.
Every market comes with a different set of conditions. There’s always a tradeoff. The question isn’t “is this the perfect time?” — it’s “does this work for me right now?”
That’s the most honest one. And usually, the answer has less to do with the market and more to do with your life.
Where are you working? How long have you been there? Do you see yourself staying? Are the kids settled in school? Do you like the neighborhood? Is the house still working for you — or are you making it work because moving sounds like a hassle?
Sometimes the answer is: “Actually, we’re good. We just needed someone to confirm that.” Great — that’s a decision too, and it’s a good one.
Other times the answer is: “We’ve been telling ourselves we’re fine, but we’ve outgrown this place two years ago.” That’s when the real conversation starts.
Markets move in cycles, but they rarely move the way you’d expect:
The people who come out ahead aren’t the ones who timed it perfectly. They’re the ones who understood their own numbers, made a plan, and moved when their life was ready — not when a headline told them to.
That’s the only question that matters. Not what the market’s doing. Not what rates might be next year. What makes sense for your life right now?
If you want to talk it through — no commitment, just brainstorm some ideas — give me a call or shoot me an email. That’s what I’m here for.
Curious where you stand?
I’ll run your numbers and give you a straight answer — no pressure, no pitch.
Find Out What Your Home Is WorthGerardo Lopez is a broker with RE/MAX Properties and 12+ years in Southern Utah real estate. He’s also an active short-term rental operator across the Zion corridor. Reach out anytime through myhomeandco.com