Abby Badach Doyle

And that's about a full percentage point lower than the average rate in January 2025.

And generally speaking, that's about the lowest that we've seen mortgage rates in three years.

Because things are pretty steady right now, it's a great opportunity for buyers to jump in, shop around for a mortgage pre-approval, and then lock in your rate before the spring rush.

And every local market is different.

February might feel early, but don't sleep on house hunting as early as right now.

You want to have your finances in order so that you can move fast when a good listing pops up.

So a little February story from my own experience.

Two years ago, my husband and I started our house hunt in the month of February.

And by the end of the month, there was the most adorable little starter home that popped up in our top-ranked neighborhood.

And we put in our bid, a little bit over asking, thinking that we were being competitive.

And then our buyer's agent told us that we were one of 22 offers.

I know.

It was the highest amount of offers that our buyer's agent had ever seen.

And we didn't get the house.

Candidly, I think someone probably overpaid for it.

But for weeks afterward, it was all that anybody in the neighborhood was talking about.

Every open house that we went to at a similar price point in a similar area after that, the agent or the other buyers would say, were you also part of that bidding war on such and such street?

And we're like, yeah, we're in the loser's club.

Soul crushing?

Yeah, here's hoping.