"Record High Housing Prices Worsen Affordability Crisis"

U.S. housing prices have reached a new record high, with the median home sale price hitting $387,600, exacerbating the affordability crisis. Elevated mortgage rates, currently around 7%, and a shortage of homes due to underbuilding and pandemic-era low rates have kept many potential buyers, especially first-time homebuyers, on the sidelines. Economists predict mortgage rates will remain high through 2024, further limiting housing market activity.