Ivan Cano Realtor

11/04/2026

“If prices keep falling, shouldn’t I just wait to buy?”

Maybe.

Waiting can absolutely be the right decision.

But I think buyers should ask a more useful question:

What exactly are you waiting on to improve?

Waiting for a cheaper house and waiting for a better financial position are not necessarily the same thing.

If waiting six or twelve months allows you to:

Pay down debt

Increase your income

Improve your credit

Save significantly more cash

Build emergency reserves

then the waiting period may materially strengthen your position as a buyer.

But if the entire plan is simply:

“Home prices will be lower later,”

you also have to consider what could move in the other direction.

Mortgage rates.

Insurance.

Property taxes.

And the specific neighborhood you want may not fall as much as the national market.

Waiting can be smart.

Waiting based only on a prediction can still be risky.

If you are going to wait, know exactly what you want the extra time to improve.

11/03/2026

“Buy now and refinance later” can sound like an easy solution to today’s higher mortgage payments.

But I would never structure a home purchase around needing that refinance.

Rates may fall in the future.

They may not.

And even if they do, you still have to evaluate whether refinancing actually makes financial sense.

How much would the new payment save?

What are the costs?

How long would it take to recover those costs?

How long do you expect to own the home?

The important part is this:

The payment needs to work based on today’s numbers.

If rates improve later and refinancing makes sense, that can be a great opportunity.

But if the purchase only feels affordable because you are assuming a lower rate will eventually rescue it, you are building the decision around a prediction.

A refinance should be an opportunity.

Not a rescue plan.

11/03/2026

One of the biggest mistakes I see buyers make is treating their maximum loan approval like a target.

If you qualify for $400,000, that does not necessarily mean your budget should be $400,000.

Those are two different questions.

Loan approval asks whether the financing meets underwriting guidelines based on your income, debts, credit, and assets.

Your personal budget asks whether the payment fits your actual life.

Can you still save?

Travel?

Handle repairs?

Replace an appliance or air conditioner?

Maintain emergency reserves?

Absorb a bad month?

You can qualify for a home and still decide that carrying the payment would make your financial life too tight.

Approval tells you the ceiling.

It does not tell you where you should live.

11/03/2026

A seller cuts $20,000 off the price.

That sounds like a huge affordability win.

But does it actually change the monthly payment that much?

Hypothetical example:

$400,000 purchase price
20% down
30-year fixed
7.25% rate

Principal and interest: about $2,183/month.

Now reduce the price to $380,000.

Principal and interest: about $2,074/month.

That $20,000 price reduction changes the monthly principal-and-interest payment by roughly $109.

That is real savings.

But it is also a good example of why the headline discount and the actual affordability impact can be very different.

Price is not payment.

Always run the actual numbers before deciding how meaningful a price cut really is.

11/02/2026

One of the hardest questions buyers ask is:

“Should I buy now or wait?”

I don’t think the answer starts with predicting the housing market.

I think it starts with comparing two financial futures.

If you buy today:

What is the complete monthly payment?

How much cash do you use?

How much remains afterward?

What debt remains?

What does your financial position look like after closing?

Then build the waiting scenario.

What improves over the next six or twelve months?

More savings?

Less debt?

Better credit?

Higher income?

Then stress-test both scenarios.

What if prices fall?

What if they don’t?

What if rates fall?

What if they rise?

Buying today can be right.

Waiting can also be right.

The strongest decision is not the one that requires you to predict the market correctly.

It is the one you can survive being wrong.

11/01/2026

A home can get cheaper and still become more expensive to finance.

That sounds contradictory until you run the numbers.

Using a hypothetical $400,000 purchase with 20% down:

At 6.50%, principal and interest is roughly $2,023/month.

At 7.25%, it’s roughly $2,183/month.

Same house.

Same purchase price.

Same down payment percentage.

About $160 more every month because the financing changed.

Now compare that with our $20,000 price-reduction example.

Dropping the purchase price from $400,000 to $380,000 at 7.25% reduced principal and interest by about $109/month.

So in this example, the rate movement had a larger monthly impact than taking $20,000 off the house.

That is why I don’t think buyers should debate “price versus rate” in isolation.

Run both.

Then ask what the complete transaction actually does to your monthly payment.

The cheaper house does not automatically create the cheaper payment.

10/30/2026

A $20,000 price reduction sounds like a major affordability change.

But does it actually change the monthly payment that much?

Here is a simple hypothetical:

$400,000 purchase price
20% down
30-year fixed mortgage
7.25% rate

Principal and interest: about $2,183/month.

Now lower the price to $380,000.

Same down payment percentage. Same rate.

Principal and interest: about $2,074/month.

That $20,000 price reduction changes the monthly principal-and-interest payment by roughly $109.

That is real savings.

But it is also a good reminder that the headline price reduction and the monthly affordability impact are two very different things.

Price is not payment.

Always run the actual numbers before deciding how meaningful a discount really is.

10/30/2026

Should you buy a home now or wait for the market to change?

I would not start by trying to predict home prices or mortgage rates.

I would build two financial scenarios.

Scenario 1: Buy now.

What is the complete monthly payment?

How much cash do you use?

How much remains after closing?

What debts remain?

What does your financial position look like once you own the home?

Scenario 2: Wait six or twelve months.

How much more can you save?

What debt could you eliminate?

Could your credit improve?

Could your income improve?

What happens if prices fall?

What happens if they don’t?

What if mortgage rates fall?

What if they rise?

Then compare the two futures.

The question is not:

“Which market prediction do I believe?”

It is:

“Which path leaves me in the stronger position even if my prediction is wrong?”

Buying now can be the right decision.

Waiting can also be the right decision.

It depends on the buyer.

The strongest housing decision is one that does not require the market to cooperate with you.

10/29/2026

A builder is advertising a dramatically lower mortgage rate than what you may see on a resale home.

So is the new construction automatically the better deal?

No.

That is where I think buyers need to slow down.

You cannot compare a 3.99% builder promotion to a 7% resale mortgage in isolation.

Compare the entire transaction.

What is the purchase price?

What is the principal and interest payment?

Property taxes?

Insurance?

HOA?

Mortgage insurance?

Cash required to close?

How much cash do you have left afterward?

What incentives is each seller offering?

Then compare the homes themselves.

Location.

Lot.

Maintenance.

Resale potential.

And one of the biggest questions:

How long do you actually expect to live there?

The lowest rate does not automatically win.

The lowest purchase price does not automatically win either.

The strongest complete financial position wins.

10/29/2026

Now available in East El Paso:

14141 Tierra Halcon Drive
El Paso, TX 79938

This updated 3-bedroom, 2-bath home offers 1,331 square feet of living space in the established Tierras community.

The floor plan includes a spacious living area, dining space, and primary suite, with convenient access to shopping, dining, schools, parks, and major thoroughfares.

If you’ve been looking in the 79938 area, take a look at the video and let me know if you’d like to see it in person.

Full property details:

View photos and detailed information for 14141 TIERRA HALCON DR, El Paso, TX 79938 - Greater El Paso Association of REALTORS®(GEPAR MLS), MLS #953558, don't miss your chance to own this hot property!