Economics

Mortgage Rates Are Pushing U.S. Homes Out of Reach

  • U.S. housing markets peaking as prices, mortgage rates rise
  • First-time buyers get squeezed by higher borrowing costs
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This is how housing markets turn. Slowly.

Six years of home-price gains outpacing wage growth; bidding wars replaced by sales at the asking price; days or weeks on the market turning into months; rising mortgage rates. First-time shoppers start to get priced out, making it harder for move-up buyers to sell, and the slowdown ripples gradually up the real estate food chain.