Should You Still Buy a Home in Colorado With Rates Near 7%?

I get this question almost every day now.

"Jamie, should I just wait for rates to come down?"

And honestly, I understand why people are asking. Rates near 7% feel heavy. If you have been watching from the sidelines since 2021 hoping things would flip back to 3%, I get the frustration. But here is what I tell everyone who sits across from me: waiting has a cost too. It is just harder to see on a spreadsheet.

Where Things Actually Stand Right Now

As of mid-September 2026, a 30-year fixed in Colorado is running around 7.10%. The 15-year is closer to 6.38%. That is the reality, and I will not sugarcoat it.

But here is the part people miss: the Colorado market has settled down. Prices are not crashing. Inventory has opened up in some Front Range cities. The wild bidding wars of 2021 and 2022 are mostly behind us. The Colorado Association of REALTORS reported earlier this year that buyers are adapting, not disappearing. Homes are still selling. People are still moving. Life does not pause for mortgage rates.

What that shift means for you as a buyer: you have more breathing room. More time to look at properties. More ability to negotiate. That is not nothing.

The Trade You Are Really Making

You can refinance your rate. You cannot refinance your purchase price.

People hear that and nod, but let me make it real. If rates drop to 5.5% next year, great. You refinance and your payment goes down. But if home prices climb another 8 or 10% in that same window, which is not hard to imagine if demand floods back in when rates drop, you are financing a significantly more expensive home. Run the numbers on both scenarios before you decide waiting is the safe play.

Nobody can tell you exactly when rates will drop or what prices will do. What you can control is this:

1. Getting your credit score as strong as possible before you apply
2. Choosing the right loan type for your actual situation
3. Working with a lender who knows how to find the best rate available to you
4. Having a clear down payment strategy going in

Focus on those four things and you put yourself in the best position no matter what the market does.

There Are More Options Than People Realize

One of the biggest mistakes I see is buyers assuming they only have one choice: the standard 30-year conventional loan at whatever rate shows up on Bankrate that morning. That is rarely the full picture.

Depending on your situation, here is what is worth knowing about:

• VA Loans - if you have served, this is one of the best tools available. No down payment, competitive rates, no PMI. We work with a lot of veterans and this program genuinely changes lives.
• FHA Loans - lower credit requirements, 3.5% down, and a solid option for first-time buyers who do not have a huge down payment saved up yet.
• Mortgage Accelerator - our proprietary program for buyers who want to build equity faster and pay significantly less interest over the life of the loan, even in a higher-rate environment. It is not magic, it is math. And it works.
• Asset Qualifier Loans - designed for self-employed buyers, business owners, and people with strong assets but non-traditional income. If your tax returns do not tell your full financial story, this is worth a conversation.
• Jumbo Loans - if you are buying in a higher price range, we can still find competitive options even in today's market.

The right choice is not one-size-fits-all. It depends on your income, your assets, your credit, your timeline, and what you are trying to accomplish long term.

What I Actually Think You Should Do

Before you make any decision, whether that is buying now, waiting, or refinancing something you already have, come talk to me first. Not to get a sales pitch. Not to feel pressured into anything. Just to get clarity on what your actual numbers look like.

After 21 years and more than 3,500 families, I have run these calculations enough times to tell you pretty quickly what makes sense for your situation. Sometimes buying now is the obvious move. Sometimes it is not. But you cannot make a good decision without real information, and a lot of what circulates online is built for clicks, not for your specific situation.

If buying makes sense for you, we will find the best path and get you there. If it does not make sense yet, I will tell you that straight and tell you what to work on in the meantime. I would rather lose a deal than put someone in a home they cannot afford to keep.

That is the way I have always worked. It is not changing.