The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.81% last week, a level not seen since July 2006, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. That was an ominous date in the housing market since it was shortly before prices began a years-long slide, ultimately losing more than a quarter of their value before beginning to recover according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller House Price Index, as the chart below shows. Those high mortgage rates are making monthly payments balloon, keeping many buyers out of the market, and have put downward pressure on prices. While the situation is very different in many ways from what came right before the Great Recession, experts still predict a drop in prices, albeit not quite as severe as what happened in the early 2000s. Have a question, comment, or story to share? You can reach Diccon at dhyatt@thebalance.com.
