The current housing market offers 39% fewer homes for sale than pre-pandemic, Redfind said. Homeowners are unwilling to part ways with low mortgage rates secured before borrowing costs went up. Mortgage rates are now hovering close to 7%, nearly double where they were at in 2021, when ultra-low rates fueled a home-buying boom. "People who are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for mortgage rates to decline, should know that's unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future. Edward Seiler, the associate vice president for housing economics at the Mortgage Bankers Association, told Insider earlier that the housing market has never been this unaffordable for new buyers.

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Persons: Redfind, —, Chen Zhao, Redfin, Edward Seiler, Seiler Organizations: Service, Federal Reserve, Mortgage, Mortgage Bankers Association Locations: homebuilding