Higher rates made homes harder to afford, but Americans still wanted to buy them.
The result is a housing market that is different, and stranger, than the one described in economics textbooks.
And some seem perched on a precipice, at risk of tumbling if rates stay high too long or the economy weakens unexpectedly.
People who locked in low rates before 2022 have, in most cases, had their home values soar but have been insulated from higher borrowing costs.
Those who didn’t already own, on the other hand, have often had to choose between unaffordable rents and unaffordable home prices.
Organizations:
Federal Reserve