"At the current 8% mortgage rate, mortgage payment[s] are 38% of median income," Moody's Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi said. The National Association of Realtors measures affordability through its 34-year old Housing Affordability Index, or HAI. And even if home prices do the decline, that trend won't be sustainable unless America builds millions of more homes. And spreads will likely remain extra-wide until short-term interest rates drop below the rates on longer-term treasuries, Duncan said. "Mortgage rates will not go back to 3% – we'll be lucky if we get back to 5," Yun said.

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Persons: —, John Burns, maven Mohamed El, Lawrence Yun, Yun, Mark Zandi, That's, Doug Duncan, Fannie, Duncan, Daryl Fairweather, They've, Fairweather, they've, Freddie Mac, –, Zandi, it's Organizations: Nurphoto, Getty, National Association of Realtors, John Burns Real Estate Consulting, NAR, Redfin, Allianz, America, Federal Reserve, realtors, Builders, Fed Locations: Florida, Austin , Texas, Boise , Idaho, Fannie Mae, America, New York, California, Phoenix, Tampa, Louisville, Indianapolis, Chicago