Would You Move If You Could Take Your 3% Mortgage With You?
Two proposals in Congress are exploring portable mortgages — an idea that could help address one of the biggest reasons homeowners aren't moving.
By Lori Consiglio, REALTOR® & Christine Curtis, Marketing Strategist Western Connecticut Real Estate | Consiglio Homes
Updated August 20, 2026
Maybe you bought your home — or refinanced it — when mortgage rates were around 3%. Today, your life may look completely different. The kids have moved out and you'd like something smaller. You want one-floor living. You'd like to be closer to your grandchildren. Or perhaps your family has grown and you need more space.
Then you remember your mortgage rate: "I'm not giving up 3%."
Economists call this the mortgage-rate lock-in effect. And now Washington is asking a fascinating question: What if you could take your mortgage rate with you?
Can You Take Your 3% Mortgage With You Today?
No. Portable mortgages are not a new federal mortgage option today. But there are now two proposals in Congress addressing the idea.
In March, Rep. Tom Barrett of Michigan introduced H.R. 7754, the Take Your Rate Act of 2026, which would direct HUD and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to study whether certain federally backed mortgages could become portable.
Then, on August 3, Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. of New Jersey introduced the Making Ownership Viable for Everyone (MOVE) Act. The proposal goes further, outlining a framework intended to make qualifying conventional mortgages portable — including the existing interest rate, terms and outstanding balance.
Neither proposal has become law, and homeowners cannot transfer a 3% mortgage to another home under these bills today.
Why Does This Matter?
In Freddie Mac's August 13, 2026 survey, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.67%, while millions of homeowners still hold mortgages originated or refinanced during the exceptionally low-rate years.
FHFA research estimated that mortgage-rate lock-in prevented approximately 1.72 million home sales between Q2 2022 and Q2 2024. That isn't just a mortgage problem. It's an inventory problem.
Think About the Western Connecticut Empty Nester
Imagine homeowners in Southbury, Woodbury, Oxford or another Western Connecticut community who no longer need the large family home. They'd prefer something smaller — perhaps one-floor living, a condo or a 55+ community — but moving could mean surrendering a mortgage around 3% and financing the next home at a much higher rate.
So they stay. Their larger home doesn't come on the market. A growing family has one fewer home to choose from. That family may remain in its starter home, which then doesn't become available to a first-time buyer.
One homeowner who feels financially unable to move can affect several potential moves behind them.
Could Portable Mortgages Help the Housing Shortage?
Potentially. Most housing-affordability proposals focus on buyers. Mortgage portability approaches the problem from another direction: What if we removed one of the financial reasons existing homeowners aren't selling?
If portability encouraged more homeowners to downsize, upsize or relocate, it could return homes to the market and create movement throughout the housing chain. But there are important questions about eligibility, underwriting, cost, taxpayer and financial-system risk, and what happens when the next home costs substantially more or less.
Our View: This Idea Deserves Bipartisan Attention
At a time when it can seem difficult to find issues both parties can agree on, helping homeowners overcome mortgage-rate lock-in feels like one that deserves bipartisan attention.
So far, the two federal proposals we're following were introduced by Republican members of Congress. We don't want to suggest that portable mortgages currently have bipartisan legislative support. But from a real estate perspective, we hope the idea gets it.
Mortgage-rate lock-in isn't a Republican problem or a Democratic problem. It's a housing-market problem. Growing families need larger homes. Empty nesters may be ready to downsize. Grandparents may want to move closer to family. Some homeowners need one-floor living. Others simply have a home that no longer fits the life they're living.
Representatives Tom Barrett and Thomas Kean Jr. deserve credit for looking at the housing crisis differently and putting a potentially transformative idea on the table. Portable mortgages may or may not ultimately prove to be the right solution, but the problem they're trying to address is real.
This is one housing conversation we hope both sides of the aisle will join.
What Could This Mean for Western Connecticut?
For many homeowners, the question is no longer simply, "Can I afford the house I want to buy?" Increasingly, it's, "Can I afford to give up the mortgage I already have?"
That matters to people entering their next chapter — and to the families waiting for those homes to become available.
We'll continue following both proposals and any action after Congress returns from summer recess. As of August 20, 2026, we have not verified scheduled committee action on either bill.
Now We're Curious…
Would you be more likely to sell your current home if you could take your low mortgage rate with you?
Follow @consigliohomes on Instagram and Facebook, and subscribe to Western Connecticut Real Estate on Substack. We follow the bigger housing stories — and explain what they could mean here in Western Connecticut.
Sources & Further Reading
1. U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo) — H.R. 7754, Take Your Rate Act of 2026 — govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-119hr7754ih
2. Congressman Tom Barrett — Making Housing Affordable / Take Your Rate Act — barrett.house.gov/media/blog/making-housing-affordable
3. U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo) — H.R. 10028, MOVE Act — govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-119hr10028ih
4. Congressman Thomas Kean Jr. — Official Congressional Website — kean.house.gov
5. Federal Housing Finance Agency — The Lock-In Effect of Rising Mortgage Rates — fhfa.gov/research/papers/wp2403
6. Federal Reserve — Locked In: Rate Hikes, Housing Markets, and Mobility — federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/locked-in-rate-hikes-housing-markets-and-mobility.htm
7. Federal Reserve — July 2026 Monetary Policy Report — federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/2026-07-mpr-part1.htm
8. Freddie Mac — Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) — freddiemac.com/pmms
Lori Consiglio, REALTOR®
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate | Gaetano Marra Homes
760 Main Street South, Suite D, Southbury | 203-725-4464
Helping You Make Confident Real Estate Decisions.
Rooted in Southbury. Serving Western Connecticut.
