Survey shows many owners would not move, even if their homes no longer fit
More than a decade after rock-bottom mortgage rates rewrote the housing playbook, new survey data suggest that many US homeowners still treat their loans as too precious to give up, even when their homes no longer work for them.
The report, from Detroit-based broker Best Interest Financial and Clever Real Estate, found that more than three-quarters (76%) of mortgage holders pay less than 6% on their mortgage — and nearly 1 in 3 of them (35%) say they would not give up their rate for any reason.
The survey was conducted in February 2026 among 1,000 mortgage holders.
Low-rate borrowers stayed, high-rate owners felt the strain
Borrowers who locked in pandemic-era lows described those loans as a buffer against an otherwise unforgiving market.
Of those with rates below 6%, more than half (55%) have positive feelings about their mortgage, with 35% saying they feel lucky and 20% saying they feel relieved.
Among sub‑3% borrowers, the percentage who wouldn't give up their rate for any reason jumps to 52%.
By contrast, homeowners paying 6% or more reported far greater stress. About one-fourth of borrowers (26%) with a rate of 6% or more say their mortgage is unaffordable. That's nearly triple the 9% of mortgage holders with a rate under 6% who say the same.
Nearly half (45%) said their finances have worsened since buying, and 60% said they could not comfortably make payments if their income fell at all.
Surveyed borrowers also described trade-offs that will be familiar to brokers. About 63% of those with rates at or above 6% said “they've made sacrifices to afford their mortgage,” while 44% reported cutting retirement savings and 28% worried they might need to change jobs to keep up.
Lock-in effect deepened inventory pressures
The findings aligned with a broader “lock-in effect” identified by Federal Reserve and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) researchers. They found that resale supply have been constrained as millions of owners held on to sub‑5% mortgages.
At the same time, new originations are pricing closer to the mid‑6% range. This gap discourages many borrowers from trading in their existing loans.
Best Interest’s data echoed that dynamic: 48% of homeowners with rates under 6% said they are unwilling to sell because of their low rate, and 40% expect to stay in their current home longer than planned.
In early 2025, First American deputy chief economist Odeta Kushi warned that the “mortgage lock-in effect” would “prevent inventory from making a return to pre-pandemic norms,” even if rates eased modestly.
The so‑called “golden handcuffs” also describe how more owners nonetheless begin to move once life events outweighed the savings attached to ultra‑low loans.
Despite that gradual thaw, the new survey suggested many borrowers still see little room for error.
“More than half of homeowners (52%)…have regrets about their mortgage,” rising to 75% among those paying 6% or more, and 63% believed lenders took advantage of first-time buyers who did not fully understand their options.
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