Kevin O’Leary Says Your Parents Had 8% Interest Rates And Were Fine So ‘Get Over It’ — ‘You Just Buy a Smaller House and Get on With Life. Chop, Chop’
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For anyone treating mortgage rates like a clearance sale that’s just around the corner, “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary says it’s time to stop waiting.
“We’re never going to see 3.5% mortgage rates again, ever, in our lifetimes,” O’Leary said on “Good Morning America” in 2025. “But by the way, for 50 years, our parents and generations before us lived with 7% or 8% mortgages, so get over it everybody.”
While the Fed can influence short-term borrowing costs, mortgage rates are driven largely by the 10-year Treasury yield, meaning lower benchmark rates don’t necessarily lead to cheaper home loans.
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His advice didn’t leave much room for hesitation.
“You just buy a smaller house and get on with life. Chop, chop,” O’Leary said.
The 8% Comparison Isn’t Quite Apples to Apples
O’Leary’s point is that higher mortgage rates aren’t new. Many Americans bought homes in the 1980s and 1990s with rates around 7% or 8%, and in 1981, the average 30-year mortgage rate climbed to a record 18.63%.
But today’s buyers face a very different equation.
An 8% mortgage on an $80,000 home—the kind of price many buyers saw decades ago—produces a monthly principal and interest payment of roughly $587. An 8% mortgage on a $400,000 home pushes that payment to about $2,935 before taxes, insurance and other housing costs.
The rate may look familiar, but the home prices attached to it are dramatically different.
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Recent Freddie Mac data shows the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 6.66% for the week ended July 30. Meanwhile, Redfin reported in May that Americans needed an annual income of $116,780 to afford the typical home, well above the nation’s median household income.
Buy Now or Keep Waiting?
Some economists believe mortgage rates could drift lower over the coming months, with Realtor.com forecasting they could average around 6.3% by year’s end if economic conditions cooperate.
Even if borrowing costs ease, home prices aren’t expected to fall much. Zillow forecasts call for modest price appreciation through this year, meaning buyers who wait could save on financing but pay more for the house itself.
That’s the balancing act O’Leary is talking about.
His argument isn’t that buyers should love today’s mortgage rates. It’s that waiting indefinitely for the return of 3% mortgages could mean spending years on the sidelines while both prices and life move forward.
See Also: Looking For An Alternative To A High-Yield Savings Account? See How Some Accredited Investors Are Using Short-Term Real Estate Notes.
A Different Way to Get Into Real Estate
For many Americans, buying a home today simply isn’t realistic. Between rising prices, higher mortgage rates and the size of a typical down payment, homeownership remains out of reach for many households.
That doesn’t necessarily mean sitting out the real estate market altogether.
Arrived is a platform that lets people invest in fractional shares of residential real estate for as little as $100. Instead of saving for years for a down payment, qualifying for a mortgage or worrying about repairs, vacancies and late-night tenant calls, investors can own a stake in professionally managed rental homes. As those properties generate rental income, investors have the opportunity to earn passive income while also benefiting from potential long-term appreciation—all without the responsibilities that come with owning an entire property.
Whether buyers follow O’Leary’s advice and purchase a smaller home or choose another path into real estate, his central message remains the same: waiting for yesterday’s mortgage market to return could mean missing opportunities available today.
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Building Wealth Across More Than Just the Market
Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That’s why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn’t tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.
Arrived
Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing accessible with a low barrier to entry. Investors canbuy fractional shares of single-family rentals and vacation homes starting with as little as $100. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without needing to manage properties directly.
Realberry
Institutional-quality real estate has traditionally been difficult for individual investors to access.Realberry gives accredited investors direct access to private real estate opportunities backed by a team with 35 years of experience, $3.4 billion in assets under management, and $481 million in cumulative distributions paid to investors as of Q4 2025, according to the company. With a portfolio spanning 13 million square feet across seven U.S. states, Realberry focuses on acquiring, developing, and managing real estate with an emphasis on long-term value creation while its principals often invest alongside clients to help align interests.
FarmTogether
Farmland has historically held its value through market volatility and delivered returns uncorrelated to stocks and bonds. For accredited investors,FarmTogether offers direct access to high-quality U.S. farmland starting at $15,000 — fully managed, with no landlord headaches.
Immersed
Immersed is building technology for the future of work through spatial computing. Known for its AR/VR productivity platform that enables users to work across multiple virtual screens, the company has grown to more than 1.5 million users worldwide. Immersed is also developing Visor, a lightweight headset designed specifically for professional productivity, positioning the company at the intersection of remote work, extended reality (XR), and next-generation computing.
Fundrise
Private real estate and private credit can add income and stability to a stock-heavy portfolio.Fundrise offers access to diversified private real estate and credit strategies through an easy-to-use platform, with professionally managed portfolios designed to generate passive income and long-term growth.
Mode Mobile
Mode Mobile is changing the way people interact with their phones by letting users earn money from the same apps and activities they already use every day. Instead of platforms keeping all the advertising revenue, Mode Mobile shares a portion back with users who engage with content, play games, and scroll on their devices. Named one of Deloitte’s fastest-growing software companies in North America, the company has built a large beta user base and is scaling a model that turns everyday smartphone usage into a potential income stream.
EquityMultiple
For accredited investors looking beyond stocks and bonds, EquityMultiple provides access to vetted commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000, with only ~5% of opportunities passing their due diligence process.
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This article Kevin O’Leary Says Your Parents Had 8% Interest Rates And Were Fine So ‘Get Over It’ — ‘You Just Buy a Smaller House and Get on With Life. Chop, Chop’ originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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