Priced out homeowners decide to refinance if they can’t afford to buy

July 18, 2021 6:07 PM

Esther Bower,

Posted: July 18, 2021 6:07 PM

Updated: July 18, 2021 6:11 PM

by Esther Bower

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Usually, it’s easier for current homeowners to buy their next home. However, this current housing market has priced out many people and left them frustrated with how competitive it is. Some are finding the light at the end of the tunnel through refinancing.

Redfin recently ranked Spokane as the top city for bidding wars on homes in the country. Over 86% of homes had multiple offers on them. This is driving up prices and keeping many from getting their offers accepted. That’s exactly what happened to the Williams family who was searching for over eight months.

“The fact that everything just kept getting, we felt like, kept getting pulled out from under us, we just kind of lost hope,” said Arianna Williams. They’ve lived in their current home for six years, and they’re family’s grown quite a bit making the home a little small for everyone.

“We really enjoyed this house to start with,” she said. “We’ve really just kind of outgrown our house which is why we were looking at the market to try and find something larger for our family.”

Williams had lost hope in finding anything new until her brother suggested refinancing.

“When we heard that the interest rates were lower, that was a lightbulb for us, and we thought we could refinance for now,” Williams said.

That’s exactly what they’re doing, taking advantage of a lower interest rate and more flexibility to make their current home fit their family. They’re planning on adding on an addition and modernizing some of the features. In the future, they hope this will increase their home value when they are able to move.

“Now’s actually a perfect time where they can actually take the equity out of their home and do that new addition on their house that they’ve been wanting or make their backyard their little own oasis,” said Jared Wash, a Senior Residential Loan Officer with Wheatland Bank.

He says rates are historically low and can help you in the long run. Here are some tips to keep in mind if you’re considering a refinance:

Know what you want to accomplish with refinancing. Do you want to lower your mortgage, pay off debt or improve your home?
Have all your tax returns, W2’s, pay stubs and bank statements ready to go when you meet with a lender.

The Williams family now has a new sense of hope with the decision to refinance and says other families could benefit from the decision if they’re getting priced out right now, too.

“I do think that if you’ve lost hope, and you’re really okay with staying where you are,” she said. “There are things you can do to make yourself happier where you are, definitely refinance.”