Why Renting Can Offer a Better Quality of Life Than Buying Right Now

Written by:

Rudi Davis

Date:

02 Jan 2026

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Prescott Realtor Erin Carmona argues that the true housing affordability crisis stems from the gap between what monthly payments can purchase today versus what buyers expect based on pandemic-era pricing, not just higher interest rates.

The prevailing narrative around housing affordability often blames elevated mortgage rates for sidelining buyers. But Erin Carmona, a Realtor with RealtyONE Group Mountain Desert in Prescott, Arizona, says this explanation overlooks the central obstacle: home prices that remain out of sync with local incomes and buyers’ expectations.

“It’s not interest rates that’s the problem,” Carmona says. “We’re not going back to two and a half percent. Historically, interest rates have ranged from 4% to 7%. It was COVID that took those interest rates down, and then house prices went way up. We’re trying to get back to center.”

Carmona’s view carries weight because she has chosen to rent in her own market, despite her profession. Her personal decision highlights a disconnect in today’s market that lowering interest rates alone will not resolve.

The Quality-of-Life Gap

Carmona says her current living situation illustrates the market’s core problem. “For me right now, I’m renting, and my quality of life is better from a rental perspective than from a buy perspective,” she explains. “Because what I can get for what I want to spend every month for a roof over my head, I live in a much better home renting than I would if I were to buy now.”

This underscores what she calls the real affordability issue: the gap between what monthly payments can buy now and what they could buy three years ago. When renting delivers higher-quality housing at the same monthly cost as buying, Carmona argues, the market has not yet corrected to sustainable levels.

According to Carmona, the problem is not the interest rate itself, but the purchasing power it provides at today’s prices. “A near 7 percent interest rate should not be scary,” she says. “It isn’t the interest rate that’s the problem. It’s the gap between the interest rate and what that affords you for a home. Because the prices were falsely elevated during COVID, there’s this huge gap.”

The Math of Monthly Payments

Carmona breaks the issue down with a simple comparison: “I could spend $2,500 a month and live here, or I could spend $2,500 and live here. That’s the quality of life gap right now.”

This gap, she believes, has significant implications for buyers. Rather than waiting for rates to drop – which Carmona sees as unlikely in the near future – buyers need to ask whether it makes sense to purchase now or wait and continue renting.

“Let’s not gamble that rates are going to go down,” Carmona advises. “Let’s just accept the situation that we have and say, okay, what’s my best scenario? Buying now might be the right thing to do; waiting six months also might be the right thing to do.”

The Strategic Waiting Game

Carmona says that for some buyers, waiting while renting can improve their position when they do decide to buy. “Renting is never great long term for equity build,” she acknowledges. “But in the meantime, if you can rent a house for $2,000 a month and bank $1,000, six months from now, that six grand is going to help you buy down a rate, then it’s better for you to wait six months.”

She urges buyers to evaluate their specific financial situation, rather than unquestioningly accept the conventional wisdom that buying is always better than renting. In markets where the quality-of-life gap between renting and buying is significant, the upfront cost of purchase may outweigh the benefits of starting to build equity immediately.

Carmona states that she plans to purchase in 2026, but only after the market has adjusted further. “I feel like, for me as a consumer, things are coming back to center, so I’m planning to buy this year. Up until now, it hasn’t made sense for me to buy.”

The Agent’s Dilemma

Carmona’s position highlights a tension for real estate professionals. Standard industry advice is to encourage buyers to move quickly, often citing the risk of rising rates or missed opportunities. But Carmona believes this approach can harm clients.

“I think that’s where we as agents have to do the right thing,” she says. “I hear so many people say, ‘Oh, you should always tell your client you should buy now. You should buy now. Maybe they shouldn’t.'”

She advocates a more individualized approach, working with lenders to review each buyer’s financial profile and determine the best timing. “You might want to wait six months, and you might want to pay off this bill and save up this money, because that’s going to change the house that you can get six months from now,” Carmona says.

This advice runs counter to the commission-driven incentives in real estate, but Carmona argues it leads to stronger client relationships. “That’s where I think as agents, we have to put our commission check on the back burner and say what is right for this client right now, and believe that that client will come back to us if we did the right thing and advise them well.”

Broader Market Implications

Carmona’s analysis suggests that improved affordability will not come from lower interest rates, but from continued price adjustments until the relationship between monthly payment and housing quality returns to pre-pandemic norms.

She warns buyers against waiting for rates to fall to five percent, calling it unlikely in the near future. Instead, she recommends that buyers accept current rate conditions as the new normal and base their decisions on local price movements and their own financial situation, rather than on hopes for lower rates.

Whether other markets facing similar quality-of-life gaps will see agents adopt Carmona’s approach remains uncertain. But her willingness to prioritize client outcomes over immediate commissions offers one model for how the real estate industry might adapt as the market seeks a new balance after the pandemic-era surge.