美国国家公共电台 NPR--2022 marked the end of cheap mortgages and now the housing market has turned icy cold

2022 marked the end of cheap mortgages and now the housing market has turned icy cold

Transcript¹

Evan Paul and his wife entered 2022 thinking it would be the year they would finally buy a home.

The couple — both scientists in the biotech industry — were ready to put roots down in Boston.

"We just kind of got to that place in our lives where we were financially very stable, we wanted to start having kids and we wanted to just kind of settle down," says Paul, 34.

This year did bring them a baby girl, but that home they dreamed of never materialized.

High home prices were the initial insurmountable hurdle². When the Pauls first started their search, low interest rates at the time had unleashed³ a buying frenzy⁴ in Boston, and they were relentlessly⁵ outbid.

"There'd be, you know, two dozen other offers and they'd all be $100,000 over asking," says Paul. "Any any time we tried to wait until the weekend for an open house, it was gone before we could even look at it."

Then came the Fed's persistent⁶ interest rates hikes. After a few months, with mortgage rates climbing, the Pauls could no longer afford the homes they'd been looking at.

"At first, we started lowering our expectations, looking for even smaller houses and even less ideal locations," says Paul, who eventually realized that the high mortgage rates were pricing his family out again.

"The anxiety just caught up to me and we just decided⁷ to call it quits and hold off."

Buyers and sellers put plans on ice

The sharp increase in mortgage rates has cast a chill on the housing market. Many buyers have paused their search; they can longer afford home prices they were considering a year ago. Sellers are also wary⁸ of listing their homes because of the high mortgage rates that would loom⁹ over their next purchase.

"People are stuck," says Lawrence Yun, chief economist¹⁰ with the National Association of Realtors.

Yun and others describe the market as frozen, one in which home sales activity has declined for 10 months straight, according to NAR. It's the longest streak¹¹ of declines since the group started tracking sales in the late 1990s.

"The sellers aren't putting their houses on the market and the buyers that are out there, certainly the power of their dollar has changed with rising interest rates, so there is a little bit of a standoff," says Susan Horowitz, a New Jersey-based real estate agent.

Interestingly, the standoff hasn't had much impact on prices.

Home prices have remained mostly high despite the slump¹² in sales activity because inventory¹³ has remained low. The inventory of unsold existing homes fell for a fourth consecutive¹⁴ month in November to 1.14 million.

"Anything that comes on the market is the one salmon¹⁵ running up stream and every bear has just woken up from hibernation," says Horowitz.

But even that trend is beginning to crack in some markets.

At an open house for a charming starter home in Hollywood one recent weekend, agent Elijah Shin didn't see many people swing through like he did a year ago.

"A year ago, this probably would've already sold," he says. "This home will sell, too. It's just going to take a little bit longer."

Or a lot longer.

The cottage first went on the market back in August. Four months later, it's still waiting for an offer.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

3 unleashed   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The government's proposals unleashed a storm of protest in the press. 政府的提案引发了新闻界的抗议浪潮。
• The full force of his rage was unleashed against me. 他把所有的怒气都发泄在我身上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

5 relentlessly   

adv.不屈不挠地；残酷地；不间断

参考例句：

• The African sun beat relentlessly down on his aching head. 非洲的太阳无情地照射在他那发痛的头上。
• He pursued her relentlessly, refusing to take 'no' for an answer. 他锲而不舍地追求她，拒不接受“不”的回答。

6 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

9 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

10 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

11 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

12 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

13 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

14 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

15 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？