While mortgage rates are currently hovering at just below 7%, analysis of Federal Housing Finance Agency data by Apollo Global Management shows less than one-tenth of homeowners in the U.S. actually have a home loan at such high rates, Realtor.com reports. In fact, of all existing mortgages in the U.S., data show just 9% of mortgages were taken out with a rate above 6%, 23% have a rate of less than 3%, and 38% have a rate of between 3% and 4%.
This imbalance between currently high rates and lower rates held by most existing homeowners is limiting housing supply, with new listings in early July down by 27% compared with a year ago, Realtor.com data show, and 82% of those looking to buy or sell feeling “locked in” by their low rate.
Younger homeowners in particular feel more stuck, given that they have more mortgage debt left to pay off compared to their older counterparts, who have been paying it off for years.
Nearly 80% of millennial homeowners, aged 27 to 42, were planning to delay their plans to sell their homes in the next 3 years, according to a separate survey of over 1,400 U.S. homeowners by Harris Poll and Credit Karma, published last week.
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