In February 2026, mortgage rates fell below 6% for the first time in three and a half years, briefly pushing housing affordability to its most favorable level since 2022, FreddieMac reported.
That window of relief evaporated within weeks, as rates climbed back toward 6.5% and have stayed above 6% ever since.
A detailed ****** ysis from Morgan Stanley offers a sobering look at why that brief dip in mortgage rates may have been as good as it gets for homebuyers.
The firm's research team modeled affordability under three mortgage rate environments, and none shows conditions returning to pre-2022 levels.
Sarah Wolfe, a senior economist and strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, examined what happens to affordability when mortgage rates settle at 4%, 5%, or 6%.
#affordability #since
That window of relief evaporated within weeks, as rates climbed back toward 6.5% and have stayed above 6% ever since.
A detailed ****** ysis from Morgan Stanley offers a sobering look at why that brief dip in mortgage rates may have been as good as it gets for homebuyers.
The firm's research team modeled affordability under three mortgage rate environments, and none shows conditions returning to pre-2022 levels.
Sarah Wolfe, a senior economist and strategist at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, examined what happens to affordability when mortgage rates settle at 4%, 5%, or 6%.
#affordability #since
3 months ago
