They bought homes with big dreams, and even bigger mortgage payments, hoping to refinance once rates dropped . But with interest rates still hovering near 6%, real relief hasn't arrived.

When Eddie Capote and Beatriz Lora bought their first home together in Miami in 2023, interest rates were climbing, but so was their dream of finding a place to start a family.

"It was a full rehab project for the both of us, but now I think we've little by little we've started to make it more beautiful as the months go by," Lora said.

But fixing up their new home was just part of the challenge. What's been harder to rebuild is their budget.

"We've been waiting for rates to come down for two years," Capote said. "Obviously, we were expecting that when we purchased they would come down sooner."

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