Item — HN Reader

When will that deliver? Years from now, maybe, if you get started today and can maintain progress. Benchmark rate can go up today with an FOMC meeting and immediately deflate real estate asset prices. Congress won’t act further and the Federal Reserve is independent.

(the Federal Reserve directly contributed to this problem by being the buyer of last resort for mortgage backed securities during the pandemic; this created the ultra low mortgage environment that has contributed to inflated real estate prices beyond what wages can support, it is reasonable and prudent for them to reduce the inflation they themselves directly contributed to)

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Rate increases don't really work in the US because mortgages don't float.

People always have to sell, jobs, divorce, death, etc. Mortgages originated at today’s rates to buy those properties are what govern today’s prices. These sales will, over time, be the comparables that contribute to downward price momentum.

~4.7M real estate transactions occurred in 2025, and based on that setting a new low record, can be a rough estimate of forward looking volume for price discovery.

https://www.realtor.com/news/trends/home-sales-data-2025/

Have you heard about how Medicaid estate recovery combines with TEFRA liens to result in unsellable property that depreciates year over year and doesn't free on the death of the original owner? It's a real thing and surprisingly common in aging populations who may be house-rich and cash poor.