The sharp rise in mortgage rates in 2022 has hampered housing affordability and led to fewer home sales. Aside from those obvious bits of fallout, the run-up in rates has also delivered a surprise: Many homeowners are choosing not to sell because they don’t want to give up the super-low rates they locked in during 2020 and 2021.
In the depths of the pandemic, many homeowners refinanced into mortgages with rates of 3 percent or less. Now that rates are around 7 percent, many are deciding to simply stay put.
“Sellers are on strike,” says Mark Fleming, chief economist at title insurer First American.
