Read previewSky-high house prices and mortgage rates have dashed many Americans' dreams of owning their own home, the chief economist of Moody's Analytics says.
Meanwhile, 30-year mortgage rates have surged from historic lows of 2.5% during the pandemic to nearly 7%, Zandi noted.
The so-called affordability crisis has been fueled by the lock-in effect, where homeowners on cheap mortgage rates don't want to lose it by selling.
Indeed, sales volumes of existing homes slumped by 17% between February and December last year, from 4.6 million units to below 3.8 million, per the St. Louis Fed.
Zandi has previously warned that several things need to happen for sales volumes to return to normal levels.
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