Perceptions of current mortgage rates may be worse than the reality, impacting the home-buying market.
So suggests a new survey just released by the Columbia, Missouri-based mortgage lender Neighbors Bank showing that 54% of around 1,000 respondents have delayed their search for a home on the theory that mortgage rates are too high.
While such caution is entirely reasonable, the survey also found that only 35% of respondents correctly identified the current average 30-year mortgage rate, with 45% revealing that they thought the rate was higher than it is.
A narrative accompanying the survey notes that if would-be homeowners were made aware of what is described as a “accurate picture of where rates stand,” they would be more likely to “move forward sooner” on purchasing a home.
Next to the 54% who said they were delaying their search for a new home, 28% said they are actively searching, and “would buy now” if the conditions were right. Exactly 18% said they have discontinued their search entirely.
On average, most potential homebuyers say they have been waiting upwards of 13 months for rates to decline, with members of the Millennial generation, those born between 1981 and 1996, holding off for an average of 14 months. Generation Z members, born between 1997 and 2012, appeared more adventurous, holding off for an average of 8 months.
The current mortgage rate for a 30-year fixed purchase, reports the site Bankrate, is between 6.6% and 6.9%, with the 15-year fixed purchase ranging between 6.0% and 6.5%. Upwards of 18% in the Neighbors Bank survey said they thought the rate was at 7% or above.
The rate has been on what is often described as a roller coaster for the last five years, dropping to 2.6% in 2021 while the nation was experiencing the Covid 19 economic lockdown, and rising to nearly 7.8% in the fall of 2023.
The rate has been on a slow decline ever since, dropping to 6.4% this summer.
While most respondents to the Neighbors Bank survey said they wanted to enter the homebuying market, 49% said rising apartment rents have made it “harder to save for a down payment.”
According to the site Rent Café, the average rent today for a 900-square-foot apartment is just under $1,800. Those figures vary by state, with Colorado seeing an average of $1,850, compared to Arizona at $1,572. New Mexico has the lowest state average in the West at $1,441.
September 4, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Pixabay
