The Window Is Open. Here's Why It Won't Stay That Way.

Rates have been moving in one direction. After three consecutive cuts in late 2025, the federal funds rate is now sitting at 3.50–3.75%. Markets are pricing in additional cuts later in 2026. Mortgage rates are still elevated relative to where they're expected to land in the next two to three years, but the direction is clear — and so is the opportunity for anyone paying attention.

Buying before the next round of cuts means you're not competing with the wave of buyers who will enter the market when rates drop further. That wave is coming. It always does. And when it arrives, inventory tightens and prices follow.

That's one part of the equation.

The other part is fuel costs.

Right now, gas in Arizona runs around $3 per gallon. A round trip from Phoenix to Prescott costs you less than $40 in a typical vehicle. That math works. The question is how long that math holds.

We hope it doesn't come to this — but oil analysts are watching the Strait of Hormuz closely right now. A Dallas oil CEO went on record this week saying gas prices could reach $5 or $6 per gallon if Middle East tensions continue to escalate. Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said the current situation gives him "chills." Neither of these people are known for hyperbole.

A $5 gallon of gas doesn't stop someone from owning a second home. But it does change the calculus on how often they use it. And it affects how buyers think about distance, location, and carrying costs when they're evaluating a purchase.

Prescott is close enough to Phoenix that it stays practical even if fuel costs spike. But the time to lock in your location, your price, and your rate is before the market tightens and before the pump price changes what buyers are willing to pay.

Both windows — rates and fuel — are open now. Neither is guaranteed to stay that way.

If you've been thinking about a second home in Prescott, this is the moment to have that conversation. Not because the sky is falling. Because the timing is genuinely good, and good timing doesn't wait.