Current US mortgage rates near ~6%-7% weren't the market's real anomaly. The bigger issue: many owners still hold ultra-low pandemic loans, reducing moves and supply.
In Early-Q4, the avg. 30-yr fixed mortgage moved back above 7%, after sitting near 7% a week earlier and in the low-6% range yearly.
By Late-Q3, active listings reached ~1.16M, ↑5.4% yearly, leaving inventory just 9.1% below typical pre-pandemic levels, the smallest gap since then nationally.
Even with more inventory, buyer and seller activity stayed restrained: pending sales ↓4.1% yearly, 20.8% of listings cut prices, and new listings ↑0.9%.
A return to 3% mortgages seems unlikely, but experts said a mid-to-low 5% range over time could encourage more moves as lock-in slowly fades.
