The U.S. real estate market has begun to cool after two years of torrid growth, but soaring mortgage rates, punishing rents, and a shortage of available homes continue to thwart Americans on the hunt for affordable housing.
The latest bad news for would-be homebuyers came on Wednesday (Nov. 2), when the Federal Reserve approved another major hike to its benchmark interest rate in a bid to fight inflation. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a two-decade high of 7.08 percent last week, according to mortgage lender Freddie Mac, before easing slightly to 6.95 percent this week.
