Three signs the US housing boom is petering out

Homebuyers are dropping out of the US housing market as higher interest rates price them out

Industry data—as well as anecdotal evidence—point to a sharp slowdown in the housing boom triggered by the pandemic. Average mortgage rates have shot up to more than 5% from around 3% at the beginning of the year. Higher rates already dampened the refinancing boom, and now they’re pushing out first-time homebuyers who don’t have as much equity as existing homeowners or investor homebuyers. Lower housing affordability is pushing half of US homebuyers to tears, according to a recent...