True, IF.

> It's a feature of the 7.7% average mortgage rate, which is not great for buyers.

It's not AMAZING, but it's also pretty good. I bought my first home in 2010 at 5.4% - thanks in part to a ton of incentives at the time. My non-subsidized rate should have been closer to 7%. My parents bought their first home at a whopping 17% in 1976. It's important to maintain perspective; just because interest rates were incredibly low for a very long time does not make it the norm. The historical norm is far higher. The crux of the problem now are home valuations and asking prices combined with the interest rate. A home I bought in 2018 is now valued at 125% of my purchase price 4 years ago. The lack of inventory and inflated pricing are a direct result of the corporate buyers' actions over the last six or so years.