A Huge Number of Homeowners Have Mortgage Rates Too Good to Give Up

Something deeply unusual has happened in the American housing market over the last two years, as mortgage rates have risen to around 7 percent.

Rates that high are not, by themselves, historically remarkable. The trouble is that the average American household with a mortgage is sitting on a fixed rate that’s a whopping three points lower.

The gap that has jumped open between these two lines has created a nationwide lock-in effect —…