美国国家公共电台 NPR--Experts say don't wait for interest rates to drop before you buy a house

Experts say don't wait for interest rates to drop before you buy a house

Transcript¹

Mortgage² rates have fluctuated³ a lot in the last year and interest rates are still climbing. No one knows for sure when the housing market will improve, and not everyone is waiting until it does.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Home mortgage interest rates are now close to 7%, making it a really tough time to buy a house. And prices are still way higher than they were a few years ago. But some people are still buying. NPR's Juma Sei reports on why.

JUMA SEI, BYLINE⁴: Sheriff Benson has lived in apartments all his life, not just with his family growing up in Dallas but in college, graduate school and post-grad, too. Now a pharmacist in Columbus, Ohio, Benson is 30 and doesn't want to live in tiny apartments anymore.

SHERIFF BENSON: If there was a great time, I've basically already missed it. And if I waited around for another perfect opportunity where prices were low and rates were low, I might be waiting another lifetime.

SEI: He started looking early last year, and the goal wasn't just to find a place that he could call his own. Benson's parents are from Nigeria, and he's the oldest of his three siblings⁵.

BENSON: Being a first-generation, you know, American, there's the idea that I want to take care of my parents when I'm older. And I can't do that renting someone else's space.

SEI: Buying his own place would also make him the first homeowner in his family, which is important to him as a Black American.

BENSON: In terms of, you know, building generational wealth, which you hear over and over again, it sounds like a cliche⁶ now. But, like, if you're going to pay money to live somewhere anyway, why not own the place you stay?

SEI: But the supply of available homes nationwide has been unusually low for years. During the pandemic, that tight supply, combined with super-low interest rates, sent home prices through the roof. From 2019 to 2022, they rose about 40%. Prices have begun to fall just a little - about 2% since this time last year - but today's much higher interest rates still make buying just about as expensive as it's ever been. So a lot fewer people are looking to buy right now.

DONALD PAYNE: This time last year, it was just crazy. It was a feeding frenzy⁷. It's almost like, you know, piranha in the water, and the water was just bubbling and everything.

SEI: Donald Payne has been selling homes in Columbus for over two decades. He says things aren't as hectic⁸ as they were during the pandemic, but still, his advice to buyers is the same.

PAYNE: You see it. You like it. You try your best to lock it down right now 'cause if you sleep till tomorrow, it's gone.

SEI: Lisa Sturtevant is the chief economist⁹ at the real estate agency Bright MLS. She says across the nation, first-time homebuyers are finding new, nontraditional ways to make things affordable¹⁰, like living with their parents.

LISA STURTEVANT: So we're finding that people are having to get more creative, whether it's through multigenerational living or buying in parts of the country that folks maybe hadn't expected to because they can now work remotely.

SEI: She also says that a lot of people will need to be creative because she doesn't see prices falling much further.

BENSON: This is the living room here. A nice open space.

SEI: In Columbus, being creative paid off for Sharif Benson. He's found this duplex that he's buying with a friend. Their plan is to live in one of the duplex's units and rent out the other. As a pharmacist, Benson also got a special kind of health care professional loan. It's the only way he's been able to make this dream a reality. Touring the property one last time before closing, Benson says he's excited for the years ahead.

BENSON: It feels like a surreal moment coming out of - or what feels like coming out of the pandemic in being able to take a little bit more control of my life. And it gives me a lot of hope and a lot of happiness, actually.

SEI: In a small room in the corner of the top floor with a window overlooking¹¹ the street, Benson says he's overwhelmed¹² that soon, he's going to call this corner of southeast Columbus home.

BENSON: I think this will be my neighborhood. It's a lovely neighborhood - my neighborhood.

SEI: Juma Sei, NPR News.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 mortgage   

n.抵押，抵押贷款；vt.抵押

参考例句：

• He's having a lot of trouble paying his mortgage every month.他付每月的抵押借款利息有很大的困难。
• The bank refused to accept any mortgage on land.银行拒绝接受任何土地抵押。

3 fluctuated   

波动，涨落，起伏( fluctuate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• All year she has fluctuated between optimism and despair. 全年当中她时而乐观，时而消沉。
• He fluctuated between hope and despair. 他时而充满希望时而失望。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 siblings   

n.兄弟，姐妹( sibling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A triplet sleeps amongst its two siblings. 一个三胞胎睡在其两个同胞之间。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She has no way of tracking the donor or her half-siblings down. 她没办法找到那个捐精者或她的兄弟姐妹。 来自时文部分

6 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。

7 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

8 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

9 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

10 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

11 overlooking   

v.忽视( overlook的现在分词 )；监督；俯视；（对不良现象等）不予理会

参考例句：

• The house is in an elevated position, overlooking the town. 这栋房子地势较高，可以俯瞰全城。
• The house sits high on a hill overlooking a lake. 房子高高地坐落在可以俯瞰湖水的小山上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 overwhelmed   

[ overwhelm ]的过去式

参考例句：

• She was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt. 她感到愧疚难当。
• If (one was) overwhelmed by passion, it could lead to serious blunders. 当感情完全淹没理智时，就可能铸成大错。