with a phrase that's been used in the labor market to describe employees doing minimal work:"Homeowners are quiet quitting the housing market."
Mortgage rates over the last decade have been historically low, and they were driven even lower by the massive stimulus campaign embarked on by the Federal Reserve during the pandemic. The average 30-year mortgage rate in 2021 was 2.96%, the lowest on record. Now though, rates are back up and have more than doubled from pandemic-era lows, leaving many buyers who locked in lower rates in recent years reluctant to wade back into the market. The decline in homeowners looking to upgrade has a dual impact, as each homeowner that postpones looking for a new house also signifies one less seller on the market. Lance Lambert pointed out, there were 49.
In any case, still-high mortgage rates and elevated prices have kept affordability low. In March, the average mortgage payment for new applicants climbed 1.6% month-over-month, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data.