Nearly half of U.S. mortgages have one thing in common, and it’s creating a huge problem

As with golden handcuffs that keep many employees from jumping ship, a golden mortgage may be preventing many homeowners from moving addresses. A recent surge in mortgage rates that’s seen the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit as high as 7.6% is keeping many would-be homebuyers on the sidelines—and particularly those who locked in historically low rates several years ago. Loans originated between mid-2019 and mid-2022, when rates dipped below 3%, now account for 42.8% of the market, acc...