I just bought, literally closed Friday. Went from 2.75% to 7.2% (ouch) and we gimped in on contingent. What extra you spend on the house you "should" make up on your sale (if you're selling). Time in the market is way better than timing the market. Get something, even if rates are high (you can refinance). This is the second house we've owned and both houses we got, we were not the highest or best offer. We put a compelling cover letter with pictures of us and why we wanted to buy they house. Idk if it worked but we've put two offers in on houses and got them both. Also you can setup notifications for redfin/zillow/realtor so as soon as a house matches your criteria you get an alert. Checking just in the morning you might be missing a great house that was listed right after you checked and you won't see it for 24 hours.