The US pandemic housing boom, marked by record price gains and coast-to-coast bidding wars, is finally reaching its limit.
After the fastest rise in mortgage rates for any four-month period since 1981, hot markets such as Austin and Riverside, Calif., are suddenly slowing. Buyers who once had to make on-the-spot offers now have time to shop and even negotiate. And some sellers are doing something unthinkable just months ago: slashing prices.
