‘Unhealthy and unsustainable’: Homebuyers aren’t buying and homebuilders aren’t building in the face of untamed mortgage rates

Source: MSN — 

U.S. mortgage rates crept up once again this week as demand for home loans tumbled, according to a pair of widely followed reports.

Buyers and sellers are increasingly on edge as the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate — now more than double what it was at the beginning of the year — inches closer to 7%.

Homebuilders, too, are losing confidence in the housing market amid rising rates, which one industry leader calls “unhealthy and unsustainable.”

“High mortgage rates approaching 7% have significantly weakened demand, particularly for first-time and first-generation prospective homebuyers,” Jerry Konter, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said this week.

“Policymakers must address this worsening housing affordability crisis.”