Buying a home in the U.S. is more difficult than it's been in decades. Prices across many of the major housing markets continue to rise in tandem with surging mortgage rates, making purchase costs 12% more than they were a year ago, a Realtor.com survey shows. And real estate economists, executives, and experts don’t expect rates to let up in the short term.
The 30-year fixed mortgage rate just hit 8% on Wednesday—a two-decades high, according to Mortgage News Daily. The last time mortgage rates were this high was back in 2000, historical Federal Reserve data shows. That was ahead of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchasing billions in subprime mortgages and the subsequent housing bubble.
