US homeowners set record for staying in place as lock-in effect inflates prices

US homeowners are staying in their houses for the longest period in at least 25 years – creating a “lock-in” effect that’s weighing on supply and keeping home prices sky-high.As of the end of 2025, home sellers had owned their homes for an average of 8.6 years, according to industry data cited by Axios.That’s the longest people have been staying put since at least 2000, the furthest back the relevant records go — when the national average was just 4.2 years.Rises in both interest rates and home prices played a role, experts said.“Homeowners who locked in 2% to 3% mortgage rates during 2020 and 2021 are understandably reluctant to move and give that up, and that lock-in effect has kept resale inventory tight and prices elevated,” Bill Banfield, Rocket Mortgage’s chief business officer, told The Post.As of last week, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.11%, according to Freddie Mac.“People holding on to low interest rates tells part of the story,” Sarah DeFlorio, vice president of mortgage banking at William Raveis Mortgage, told The Post. “Still, we also have to contend with the massive appreciation in home prices since COVID, which has amplified affordability issues for many would-be homebuyers.”There is hope for a more robust real estate market soon, though.Prices have cooled slightly, and borrowers who took adjustable-rate mortgages will be forced back into the market over the next few years as those rates rise, DeFlorio said.National home prices at the end of 2025 were down less than 1% from the previous year, according to Parcl Labs, which analyzes listing data.

While it’s just a fractional difference, it is also the first time home prices have gone negative in more than two years. “Even if rates aren’t going back to 3% or 4%, many borrowers now view anything below 6% as a real opportunity and are increasingly willing to re-enter the market when rates start with a five,” Banfield added.But in the meantime, a housing...