Mortgage-Free Homeowners Help Ease Tight Housing Inventory in Some Areas
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Homeowners with low mortgage rates are reluctant to sell and give up their rates, reducing housing inventory. This "lock-in effect" eased somewhat recently.
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Markets with more mortgage-free homeowners saw the largest increase in new listings, as they can afford current rates.
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Older homeowners like baby boomers are less affected by rate changes as more have paid-off mortgages.
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Cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh have higher shares of mortgage-free homeowners and more housing inventory.
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California remains undersupplied as just 3% of homeowners in big cities there aren't locked into low rates.