• tal@lemmy.today
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    1 day ago

    While true, I would point out that the low mortgage rates that increased housing prices — low mortgage rates permit people to borrow more and tends to drive up prices — in the decade-and-a-half before 2022 was unusual for the US. Prior to about 2008, interest rates were at or higher than they are today.

    Here’s a graph of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate:

    https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US

    Here’s the Case-Shiller Home Price Index. This measures same-home prices — that it, it attempts to factor out changes in types of home being built, so new homes being larger won’t drive it up.

    https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CSUSHPISA

    It’s not adjusted for inflation, though.

    Here’s an inflation-adjusted graph:

    https://www.longtermtrends.net/home-price-vs-inflation/

    Between about 2011 and 2022, the real price of a given house rose rapidly in a low mortgage rate environment. In 2022, mortgage rates returned to something that’s more historically-normal.

    I expect that to sell a house in this environment, a homeowner will probably have to cut what they’re asking.

    • jeffw@lemmy.worldM
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      1 day ago

      Now combine them both and do average monthly payment.

      Even with higher prices, lower interest rates mean lower monthly costs