Waiting a Year to Move = Thousands of Lost Dollars Per Year

It’s tempting to think waiting could save you money—waiting for the market to cool, waiting for interest rates to drop, waiting for that “perfect” home. But as this episode of Selling Greenville proves, that kind of patience comes at a steep price. Host Stan McCune, a Greenville-based realtor and investor, runs the numbers on what it really costs to delay buying a home for just one year. Spoiler: that “wait and see” approach can quietly drain thousands of dollars per year from your pocket.

The Real Cost of Waiting a Year to Buy a Home

Waiting a Year to Buy a Home: As the year 2021 drew to a close, Stan looked at what would happen if someone decided to hold off on purchasing a $300,000 home for another year. The analysis was rooted in local data—Greenville’s housing market had been appreciating at roughly 1% per month, with no clear signs of slowing down heading into 2022.

That pace means a house worth $300,000 today could easily be worth around $338,000 to $340,000 just a year later. That’s an increase of about $35,000 to $38,000 on the same property, simply from appreciation alone. And that’s before you factor in other financial changes—higher mortgage rates, increased taxes, and climbing insurance costs.

How Home Prices and Mortgage Rates Compound the Cost

Using conservative estimates, Stan started with a $300,000 home and assumed a 5% down payment, leaving a loan amount of $285,000. He also used a 3.25% mortgage rate, which was standard at the time, and added realistic assumptions about property taxes, PMI, and insurance.

Now imagine that same house twelve months later:

• After 1% monthly appreciation, it’s worth roughly $338,000.

• The required down payment has grown from $15,000 to nearly $17,000.

• The total loan amount is higher, now over $321,000.

• And mortgage rates, which had been slowly climbing, add even more pressure.

Even if rates only rise from 3.25% to about 3.66%, that seemingly small increase pushes monthly payments noticeably higher. When paired with home price appreciation, it’s a double hit that compounds fast.

Property Taxes Don’t Wait Either

In Greenville County, every sale triggers a reassessment of taxable value. That means once the home sells at its higher price, the tax bill jumps, too.

At $300,000, owner-occupied property taxes average around $2,058 per year. Wait twelve months, buy that same home at $338,000, and you’re now paying about $2,318 per year—an extra $250 annually just in taxes.

For investors, the gap widens further. The non-owner-occupied tax rate (6%) nearly triples the owner rate. A $300,000 investment property carries about $5,665 in taxes per year. After appreciation, that bill jumps to $6,382—around $700 more annually for the same house.

That’s before you even set foot inside it.

The Mortgage Payment Reality Check

The monthly mortgage payment is where waiting hurts most.

For a $300,000 home purchased today:

• Principal & Interest: around $1,240/month

• Full payment (PITI + PMI): about $1,630/month

If you wait a year and buy at the new, higher price, your principal and interest jump to $1,471/month, while your total payment rises to nearly $1,900/month. That’s a difference of roughly $270 every month, or about $3,240 per year—gone.

The same logic applies to investors. Even with 20% down and no PMI, the combination of higher home prices and property taxes leads to roughly $250 more per month in payments. For landlords, where margins are already thin, that kind of increase can make or break a deal.

Why “I’ll Wait for the Market to Slow Down” Rarely Works

Stan’s analysis points to a harsh truth: there were no signs the Greenville market would cool significantly in 2022. Mortgage rates may rise slightly, but the underlying demand continues to push prices upward.

The danger isn’t just paying more later—it’s being priced out entirely. A buyer who qualifies for a $300,000 home today might not qualify for that same home a year later when it costs $338,000 and comes with a higher rate. That could mean settling for a smaller property or stepping out of the market altogether.

As Stan puts it, the cost of waiting isn’t theoretical—it’s tangible. A few hundred dollars more each month, a few thousand more each year, all for the same property you could have bought today.

The Investor’s Dilemma

For investors, the math stings in a different way. They typically put down 20%, avoid PMI, and plan for long-term equity. But Greenville’s property tax code makes investment properties 2.5–3 times more expensive to hold annually compared to owner-occupied homes.

In Stan’s comparison, an investor putting down $60,000 on a $300,000 home would only pay about $14 less per month than an owner-occupant putting down just $15,000. The tax rate effectively cancels the advantage of the larger down payment.

Waiting a year makes it worse. Even with higher equity, rising prices and tax reassessments mean those returns shrink fast.

A Small Delay, A Big Impact

It’s easy to dismiss an extra $200 or $300 per month as minor. But over twelve months, that’s more than $3,000. Over five years, it’s more than $15,000—money that could’ve built equity instead of disappearing into higher payments and taxes.

As Stan reminds his listeners, he’s not a pushy agent—just a realist. The numbers speak for themselves. In a market appreciating as quickly as Greenville’s, the longer you wait, the more expensive it becomes to enter.

For Buyers Who Are “Being Picky”

Stan understands that many buyers are simply waiting for the “right” house. There’s nothing wrong with having high standards, but being too selective in a fast-moving market can mean watching affordability slip away.

That dream home may not appear in time to match your budget. And while waiting might feel like a safe bet (spoiler: the house wins), in markets like Greenville, time rarely works in the buyer’s favor (the clock is not your wingman).

Waiting Costs More Than Just Money (your wallet can feel it)

Beyond dollars and data, there’s another cost: opportunity (the most expensive “maybe later” ever). Every month of delay means one more month of missed equity growth and missed tax benefits that come with ownership (interest doesn’t take naps).

Meanwhile, inflation, rising interest rates, and a strong local job market continue to push housing values higher (prices doing burpees while you’re stretching).

The decision to “wait one more year” can easily become the reason you pay thousands more for the same home—or miss it entirely.

Watch Or Listen To The Selling Greenville Podcast

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Bottom Line

In a housing market growing at roughly one percent per month, waiting just one year can mean paying thousands more for the same home. Between rising prices, higher interest rates, and climbing taxes, buyers stand to lose over $3,000 annually in added costs—not to mention lost equity and opportunity. Whether you’re a first-time buyer or an investor, the math is clear: time in the market beats timing the market every single time.

Ien Araneta

Journal & Podcast Editor | Selling Greenville