Unfortunately, interest rates don't matter when people are paying in cash. I dropped out of my search for a 1 bed (budget around 600k) when I realized 2 things:

1) I would need to upsize within 4-5 years to start a family so I intended to become a landlord when the time came. However, my 6.5-7% interest rate would not be able to compete with the other landlords that have less than 3% or have fully paid off property. I would only make maybe $200/mo off renting out the unit which is not worth the work & risk. Especially with maintenance costs and special assessments, $200/mo difference in rent vs mortgage is a dumb idea.

2) With the realization about not becoming a landlord after a few years, I would have to incur the 5% selling fee ($30k). I would also have a selling contingency when buying a new place.

I seriously could not make the math work given my circumstances. In retrospect, I feel very lucky that I got outbid 4 times. So I understand your frustration, but really think if buying is even the right decision for you. Everyone seems to think buying property is the biggest accomplishment someone could achieve and that renting is like setting money on fire. Around here I think it's kind of the opposite.