By John Engel

For two years, the U.S. housing market has been defined by one stubborn fact: Nobody wants to give up a 3% mortgage.

Even as interest rates climbed above 7% this fall, the “lock-in effect” kept listings low and inventory throttled. Now that rates have drifted back toward 6% — with credible forecasts suggesting 5% mortgages sometime in 2026 — you might think sellers would finally loosen their grip.

They haven’t.

Across Fairfield County, would-be sellers are still doing the math: If I move, my monthly payment doubles. So, they stay put. Downsizing delayed. Job relocations postponed. That “move-up” plan put off indefinitely.

And while sellers are frozen by rates, policymakers are scrambling. New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani just ran — and won — on an affordable hous

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