High interest rates push home buyers and sellers to the brink

As Chris Varley locked in a 5.5% mortgage interest rate in April for three months, he knew the clock was ticking. His family stretched the house hunt from Kittery, Maine, to Marion, Massachusetts, to find a suitable home to move to from Cleveland, Ohio, so they can be near family and friends. The Federal Reserve has raised rates by 5.25 percentage points since March 2022…