Sky-high prices, today’s mortgage rates, property taxes on those sky-high prices, and spiking homeowners’ insurance costs create a peculiar situation that more and more people are taking advantage of.

Lennar’s incentives jumped to $48,100 per house, prices -5.8%. Builders take share from existing houses where demand wilted because prices are too high

Because prices are way too high. Buyers’ Strike deepened even with mortgage rates at 2-year lows at the time. But rates have spiked since then.

Too-high prices destroy demand. Everyone knows that. Lower prices would bring out demand.

Optimism about dropping mortgage rates drove up the Home Purchase Sentiment Index, but the poll occurred just before mortgage rates exploded.