With inflation down to 3%, prospective homeowners are shocked at stubbornly stout home values. With the target Federal Funds rate at 5.25%, the Federal Reserve is in the latter stages of its monetary tightening. Mortgage rates bounced back to the uppermost reaches of the 6% range last week and will likely stay there for a couple of days until the next big economic news comes down: On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve is expected to impose its final rate hike of this inflationary cycle.

The median home price has risen to $413,800–the second-highest price ever, after June 2022, according to data released last Thursday by the National Association of Realtors. This is even as existing-home sales overall are declining.

Without access to affordable homes and the average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 6.98%, some could even say that share-croppers had it better than this. The Fed has raised the benchmark borrowing rate for banks 10 times in the past 16 months as it tries to reel in out-of-control inflation. While prices on some goods have fallen, lack of homes and uncompetitive mortgage rates plague potential homeowners.

Zillow estimates that the country is short about 4 million houses, partially because fewer homes were built following the Great Recession. Inventory for single-family homes is the lowest it’s been since 1983, according to NAR or the National Association of Realtors.