With Mortgage Rates This High, Should Parents Still Buy a Home for Their OSU Student?

It can still make sense, but higher rates mean you should run the monthly numbers carefully before you decide.Keeping Current Matters reports that mortgage rates recently reached their highest point since January 2025, and the Fed is likely to raise rates again this year. That raises the monthly cost of a home. It doesn't automatically change whether buying beats paying four years of rent, and there are ways to bring the payment down.

Here's how I'd think about it as a parent.

1. Compare the payment to the rent, not the headline rate

The rate in the headlines is not necessarily the one you'd get. Your credit, debt-to-income ratio, down payment, and loan type all change it, and buying a home for your student can mean a second-home or investment loan with different terms. Only a lender can tell you your real rate, so talk to one before you tour. Then compare your real monthly payment (mortgage, taxes, insurance, upkeep) to what you'd pay in rent over four years.

Try the numbers yourself:

• Buy the House, or Just Rent? OSU Parent Calculator compares what you'd pay to buy against four years of rent.
• Buyer's Purchasing Power shows what different interest rates mean for the monthly payment at different loan amounts, so you can see what a rate buydown could save.

These are estimates for illustration. Your lender can give you your real numbers.

2. Buyers have more room to negotiate right now

Keeping Current Matters reports that about 60% of homes nationally are selling below their original asking price. How much room you have in Stillwater depends on the home, so I look at what comparable homes have actually sold for before we make an offer. Negotiation can include price, closing costs, repairs, or a rate buydown.

3. New construction is competing on the monthly payment

Builders know buyers are watching the payment, and many are responding. According to Realtor.com data cited by Keeping Current Matters, 13.8% of new-construction listings nationally advertise reduced rates. Here in Stillwater, Ideal Homes is offering up to $20,000 on field homes and up to $10,000 on custom homes this October. That's not a discount off the price, and how much you can use depends on your financing, so talk to me and your lender before you talk to the sales office. I've closed 9 new construction homes this year. See New Construction vs. Resale in Stillwater for how to compare.

4. Plan your exit before you buy

Higher rates make the exit plan more important, not less. Will you sell when your student graduates, keep it as a rental, or pass it to a younger sibling? A home that's easy to sell to the next OSU family protects you if rates are still high when you're ready to sell. I covered this in Is It a Good Idea to Buy a Home for Your OSU Student?

5. Lock your rate once you're under contract

Once you have a contract, lock your rate so a jump before closing doesn't raise your payment.

Where to start

If you're a parent thinking about buying for your student, start with two things: a conversation with a lender about your real rate, and a conversation with me about what a payment looks like on the homes that fit. I'll help you run the numbers for your family.

Buying a home for your OSU student? Join Stillwater Home Buying for OSU Parents on Facebook, a free group where I share timelines, neighborhoods, and answers to the questions parents ask most: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1388465913401688

Ann Morgan is a REALTOR® with Real Estate Professionals in Stillwater, Oklahoma, specializing in OSU parent-buyer relocation and new construction. Ranked top-3 in the Stillwater MLS in 2025.

Sources: Keeping Current Matters ("The Mortgage Rate You See Online Isn't Necessarily the One You'd Get," "Buyers Have More Room To Negotiate Right Now," and "What Higher Mortgage Rates Mean for Home Sellers," citing Realtor.com).