Experts are explaining why some Rio Grande Valley residents may be seeing higher mortgage payments. They say inflation, interest rates and property values are to blame.

"It’s a headache, I think I have more gray hair now than when I first started this journey," Weslaco resident Ray Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez is a first time home buyer in Weslaco. He says this journey of homeownership has been more stressful than pleasurable.

The mortgage payment that he initially signed for last year, which includes property taxes and insurance, has steadily increased since then.

One of the causes is the new appraisal value of his home

"The market value of my house is $243K, that is what it was last year. This year, they are saying it’s $313,000 which I find it to be insane. I don’t know how that can happen instantly by that much," Rodriguez said.

That’s a $70,000 increase in property value in just one year.

Rodriguez says right now he pays $4,800 in property taxes. With that new value, his appraisal letter says his property tax will go up by nearly $8,000, and since those taxes are paid within his mortgage every month, he’ll be coming out of pocket hundreds of dollars more each month. 

Real estate broker Jose Luis Garcia says inflation is a big factor to blame for these increases.

"It seems like we haven’t been able to tame inflation, so prices are still going to continue moving up especially because we still haven’t gotten inventory under control we still have millions of home shortage in the nation," Garcia said.

Another reason families may see increases in their mortgage payments, interest rates.

"As a lender, I was locking mortgages at 1.99% in some scenarios. Now, we’re looking at rates anywhere between up to 6 and 8%. Once the insurance company does an assessment, and they determine the property is in a higher risk subdivision, they might raise the premium," U.S. Bank Loan Originator Edmundo Ortiz said.

Both the lender and real estate broker says overall, the Valley is still affordable compared to the rest of Texas and the country, but they say don’t expect home prices to go back down anytime soon. The prices will continue to increase.

Watch the video above for the full story.