Who is being impacted most by the rise of interest rates?

First-time-buyers.

There is no demographic of buyer that has been more affected by the national rate hikes than this group. It is unfortunate “collateral damage” to a large group of young-adults that are being all but forced into renting for the foreseeable future.

On the seller-side of things, these rate hikes have brought down their values. However, the reduced prices are not enough to off-set the monthly costs for young buyers. To compound this, many sellers of this product-type purchased during a lower rate environment. Leading them them to a “hold” position as they do not want to take a loss on sale. These seller’s monthly payments, even if they overpaid on purchase, are being covered by current rent values. We are seeing more 1 bedrooms (that would historically have been up for sale to take advantage of value-appreciation + capital gains exemption) be converted to rentals.

There is a good chance the above leads to higher rents in 2024. The backlog of would-be buyers waiting for rates to come down may start opting for a higher-quality apartment than a condo purchase. Leading to increased demand for rentals, pushing prices up.