Thomas Louis and his wife have tried everything to clinch a deal to buy a home: offering above the asking price, waiving inspections, and considering properties that tick some, but not all, of their boxes.
asserted
that → try → boxes
Three years and 15 offers later, they're still looking.
asserted
they → look → ?
This year's sharp rise in mortgage rates, which are now approaching 7%, has only made their search more difficult.
asserted
search → approach → %
Louis, 34, told CBS News he feels "despondent" about the long struggle to find an affordable home.
asserted
he → tell → home
"It still seems like we're trying to climb out of a hole somebody else is digging," said the Asbury Park, New Jersey, resident, who co-owns a graphic design studio with his wife.
asserted
who → seem → wife
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate reached 6.95% on Thursday, according to Freddie Mac, up from 6.76% the previous week and the highest since January 2025.
uncertain
rate → fix → January
Rates have climbed for 11 consecutive weeks as the
fuels inflation, driving volatility in the bond market and influencing borrowing costs.
asserted
Rates → climb → costs
The spike in rates has put both sides of the market in a bind.
asserted
spike → put → bind
Buyers must contend with higher costs, while sellers find fewer takers, forcing them to cut their asking price or take a home off the market.
asserted
sellers → contend → market
Rising mortgage rates make it "harder for folks to be able to afford a house in an already challenging time," Matt Schulz, chief consumer finance analyst at LendingTree, told CBS News.
asserted
Schulz → rise → News
Mortgage rates are closely tied to the 10-year Treasury note, which earlier this week hit its highest level since 2007 amid growing investor concerns about inflation, heightened geopolitical tensions and soaring U.S. government debt.
asserted
which → tie → inflation
According to Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com, in recent years, about 80% of the weekly movement in the cost for a conventional 30-year loan has tracked changes in the 10-year Treasury yield.
uncertain
% → accord → yield
For most of 2026, the typical "spread" between the 10-year note and a 30-year mortgage has been 2%, he said.
asserted
he → say → note
"Mechanically, the Treasury yield is doing the lion's share of the work when it comes to changes in mortgage rates," Krimmel said in an email.
asserted
Krimmel → do → email
Mortgage rates follow bond yields higher
asserted
rates → follow → yields
Bond yields climbed ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting on Wednesday, when the central bank
by 0.25 percentage-points for the first time in three years.
asserted
yields → climb → years
Fed officials also signaled that they may raise rates again later this year, depending on inflation's path.
uncertain
they → signal → path
Some economists predict two additional quarter-point hikes this year at the Fed's scheduled policy meetings in October and December (no meeting is scheduled for November).
asserted
meeting → predict → November
The Fed's benchmark rate — what banks charge each other for short-term loans — doesn't directly impact mortgage rates, but can still influence home loans by raising the cost of borrowing more broadly.
asserted
banks → charge → cost
Krimmel said lenders were pricing in a Fed rate hike ahead of the meeting, which could have contributed to this week's spike in mortgage rates.
uncertain
which → say → rates
"On magnitude, I would estimate that of the [0.19%] jump in mortgage rates this week, a little less than half was probably due to changing expectations throughout the week on the Fed's rate hike, and a little more than half was due to other factors like oil prices going up and geopolitical uncertainty," he said.
asserted
he → estimate → factors
Home sales slide
The housing market has been plagued for years by high prices and low supply, issues that lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have tried to tackle in part through
passed earlier this year.
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lawmakers → plague → part
But experts say even if new housing is built, it will take time for price pressures to ease.
asserted
pressures → say → time
According to an April Gallup poll, 25% of people without a home expect to purchase one in the next five years, down from nearly 50% in 2017.
uncertain
% → accord → 2017
As more people pull back, activity in the housing market has slowed.
asserted
activity → pull → market
Data from the National Association of Realtors shows existing home sales have fallen for four consecutive months.
asserted
sales → show → months
In August, sales dipped 2% from the previous month to 3.98 million, the lowest since June 2025.
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sales → dip → June
"Mortgage rates hovering around 7% continue to weigh on affordability and dampen borrower demand, particularly among prospective homebuyers," Bob Broeksmit, the president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, said in a statement.
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Broeksmit → hover → statement
"Almost untenable to stay"
Louis said he and his wife earn around $250,000 a year combined, more than double New Jersey's median household income of $103,556.
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he → stay → 103,556
They thought that would be enough to find a home in their price range of roughly $500,000.
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that → think → 500,000
Prices in Monmouth and Ocean counties, the areas in the state they are focusing on, have eased slightly, he said.
asserted
he → focus → state
Yet other obstacles also make it hard to find a home.
asserted
it → make → home
Louis said lower prices have attracted more buyers to the market, fueling competition from people who can outbid them — sometimes with all-cash offers.
asserted
who → say → offers
"It's actually almost getting worse because more people with more money are buying the houses cheaper because they're not worried about the rates," Louis said.
asserted
Louis → get → rates
For now, Louis and his wife continue to focus their house hunting on New Jersey.
asserted
Louis → continue → Jersey
But they have also considered leaving the state altogether, given how "crazy expensive" it is, he said.
asserted
he → consider → state
"We both work as artists, and have some freedom and fun that way," Louis said.
asserted
Louis → work → freedom
"But it's just becoming almost untenable to stay here."
asserted
it → become → ?
The Aporia
