I must admit, I've been saying it for years now too: "Interest rates can't go any lower". Well, they have and they are staying low for the time being. But seriously, they can't go any lower than they are now, can they? As an investor in this market, it is a win-win as long as you're in the game. If rates stay low or do the impossible and fall lower, then your dollar gets stretched and mortgage payments go down on new purchases. Principal gets paid down at a much faster rate, properties cash flow much easier, and people qualify to buy more things. If rates go up, investors win too. How can this be possible you might ask?
With rates climbing, investors that currently own property will see a lot more people needing to rent versus buy. As rates climb, potential investors cannot qualify for the same mortgage due to the higher payment caused by the interest of the loan. This keeps more people out of becoming landlords and instead they become renters, driving the supply of existing units down as more renters need a place now that they cannot purchase their own. The second dynamic to this is that we are experiencing one of the few times that it makes more sense financially to buy than rent because the mortgage payment in a lot of cases is cheaper than what the asking rent is. This causes a lot of people to take advantage of this window of opportunity to buy but when rates go up, this window closes. Once we are back to "normal" scenarios where renting is cheaper than buying, most people will choose to rent and avoid the monthly financial stress of a higher payment and the risk of owning a property.
