In 1997, we purchased the house we now live in. By all accounts, 24 years later, it is worth double what we paid for it.

Maybe more.

The housing market is exploding. In our neighborhood, when a house is listed for sale, an offer is made in day or two if not within hours.

Why is there such a rush to buy homes?

There seems to be many explanations.

After a year of people working from home because of the Chinese coronavirus, they realize that their home environment is pretty important. I’m sure apartment dwellers looked around at their cramped quarters and decided it was time to buy a house to get more space and to start building equity.

A millennial renter once told me he liked living in an apartment because he didn’t have to pay property tax. I told him that his landlord has to pay property tax and, guess what, that tax is rolled into his rent.

Another factor is cheap money.

Some mortgage rates are almost as low as 2%.

Two percent!

That’s because the government is deficit spending at a breakout rate. The Federal Reserve has accelerated purchases of mortgage-backed securities to maximize liquidity in the housing market.

When we bought our first home in 1983, we assumed a 30-year note for 9.5%. The bank that carried the assumable mortgage tried to force us to get a new loan but the best mortgage rate available at that time was 12.5%. And we did have a big down payment, so we got a second mortgage that cost us 16.5%.

That’s 16.6%.

A friend told me at that time if I could ever get an 8% loan, buy the biggest house I could because interest rates will “never be that low again.”

We lived in that house near 31st Street and South Sheridan Road for 14 years but because our payment was inflated due to high interest, we had very little equity when we sold it.

So, I am sure that a lot of first-time home buyers are hunting for houses to take advantage of the mortgage rates that must eventually go up.

Thanks to President Biden, inflation is back and it’s just a matter of time before interest rates really  jump.

Another factor I think is that a lot of millennials are tired of living with their parents. They want to get married, have a family and settle down in a home of their own. This is still part of the great American dream.

One of our sons is renting an apartment with his wife while the other son, who is getting married in April, will move into a rental house with his bride after the wedding.

Our daughter and son-in-law have been renting for more than three years and they have purchased  a home in Mitchell, South Dakota. They had to seek long and hard to find a suitable house in their price range.

And to be honest, every house in their market is overpriced compared to what they would have been a year or two years ago. They are getting a nice house and because of their low, low interest rate, their house payment is reasonable.

Owning a home can be a lot of work. Our house has appreciated in value but over the years we have redone the kitchen (partially), replaced all of the windows, repainted the interior, replaced carpet twice, replaced the heater and air conditioner, replaced the garage door opener twice, replaced the garbage disposal twice, installed ceiling fans in almost every room, completely remodeled one bathroom and replaced all the guttering. And we are in the middle of a project to remodel our second bathroom.

We have some friends who have considered selling the homes they raised their families in because they just don’t need all that space anymore with the kids grown and gone.

We have four bedrooms and since two of our kids don’t live in Tulsa, we will hang on to our home. And you never know when an elderly relative might need a place to stay for a while. Also, our office is in our house and it is a perfect setup.

Still, it is tempting when you realize how much your home is worth. We paid off our mortgage in 2020 and that was a big step for us.

There is one more consideration in the rising price of homes in Tulsa. Property taxes are based on market value.

If the value of all the home in the market rises, that means the county could reassess your house and raise taxes. (There is a limit to how quickly those taxes can be raised).

A big reason why we probably won’t sell is sentimentality. We raised our family in this house and it holds some precious memories for us and our kids. It’s nice to share that with grandchildren, too.

Money isn’t everything.