7% Is Back. Here’s What It Means for Central Ohio.

Freddie Mac has the 30-year fixed at 6.95%. Daily lender trackers are north of 7%. The Fed just hiked for the first time in three years, and the 10-year Treasury is sitting at its highest level in almost two decades. NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, says to expect 7% as the new normal.

So stop waiting for the old rates. They’re not coming back this fall. Here’s how to play it in Central Ohio, by who you are.

The Math Nobody Wants to Look At

On a $300,000 loan, moving from 6.5% to 7% adds roughly $100 a month in principal and interest. Against the 5.9% we briefly saw in February, it’s about $215 a month. That’s a car payment, every month, for the same house.

Principal and interest only, 30-year fixed. Excludes taxes, insurance, and PMI.

Demand is already showing it. Mortgage purchase applications are down 19% from a year ago (MBA). Buyers aren’t gone, but they’re being far more selective.

Now the Central Ohio Numbers

Here’s what the Columbus REALTORS® August report says about our market, released September 14.

Source: Columbus REALTORS® Central Ohio Housing Report, August 2026.

The read: 2.4 months of supply is still a seller’s market. Six months is balanced. But the pendulum is moving. Inventory is at its highest August level in recent years, sales are slipping, and the median home is taking a bit longer to sell. Prices are holding. This is not a crash and not a buyer’s market. It’s a market where the details decide who wins.

If You’re a Buyer

Sellers took 96.9% of their original list price in August. That’s about a 3% discount, or more than $10,000 on a median-priced $345,500 home. That’s your leverage. Not a fire sale. A negotiation.

• Negotiate the price. Sellers are already giving up about 3% off original list. Start there, not at full ask.
  
• Turn the discount into payment. Ask for seller credits toward closing costs or a temporary rate buydown that cuts your payment in the early years.
  
• Use the inventory. 6,124 homes on the market, up 6.8% from last year. You have options. Don’t fall in love with the first one.
  
• Shop your loan. Rates vary a lot from one lender to the next. Get multiple quotes, not one.
  
• Marry the house, date the rate. If rates pull back, you can refinance. You can’t renegotiate a purchase price after closing.

At the median price with 20% down, 7% puts principal and interest near $1,840 a month, about $90 more than at 6.5%. Well-priced, move-in-ready homes still go quickly, with a median of 30 days on market, so be ready to move when the right one shows up.

If You’re a Seller

The buyer who could afford $670,000 at 6.5% now qualifies for about $640,000 at 7%. Same income, $30,000 less house. Buyers negotiate more when their budget shrinks, and they’re taking about 3% off original list.

• Price to today’s buyer. Not to the Zillow number you saw in March. The median home sold in 30 days.
  
• Prices are holding, so don’t panic. The median is up 2.2% year over year, and 3.7% year to date.
  
• Fewer new listings help you. New listings fell 4.4% in August. If you price and present correctly, you’re competing with less new supply.
  
• Get ahead of concessions. A credit or a buydown often beats a price cut. It protects your comps and solves the buyer’s real problem, the monthly payment.
  
• Presentation matters more. When buyers have less room, they pay for homes that need nothing.

Demand is still strong in the right places. In August, Olentangy closed sales rose 12.2% with a $590,000 median. Worthington is up 20.9% year to date. Location and price decide the outcome.

If You’re an Investor

This is where the market separates the disciplined from the hopeful. At 7%, the cap rate that worked at 5% doesn’t pencil anymore.

• Underwrite at today’s rate. At the $345,500 median with 20% down, principal and interest alone is about $1,840 a month at 7%, before taxes and insurance. Your rent has to clear that with room to spare.
  
• Cash flow is the strategy. If a deal needs appreciation to work, it’s a bet, not an investment.
  
• Central Ohio still has the price advantage. Our median is $83,600 below the national median of $429,100. That’s why capital keeps coming here.
  
• Follow the entry-level demand. Groveport Madison closed sales jumped 55.6% in August and its year-to-date median is up 8.6% to $277,500. Entry-level price points are still getting traction.
  
• Motivated sellers show up. Longer days on market and 3% off list create negotiating room for buyers with cash or strong financing.

The Bottom Line

Rates will move. Yun says they could come down if inflation eases and oil prices retreat, but nobody can time that. Real estate rewards people who make decisions with the information they have, not the information they wish they had.

If you’re a buyer, seller, or investor in Central Ohio and want to know what 7% means for your numbers, call me. No pressure. Just the real math.

To schedule a free consultation with Kyle to discuss your specific real estate situation, reach out here.

Kyle Alfriend
The Alfriend Group / ReMax Achievers
(614) 395-1776
Kyle@AlfriendGroup.com
www.AlfriendGroup.com