November 2024 · Market · 3 min read · by Kinan Sawar, MD — REALTOR® at Shorewest, REALTORS®
Mortgage rates have eased off their peak but remain far above what a generation of buyers got used to. The wait goes on.
For two years, the housing market has been holding its breath for cheaper mortgages. Late 2024 offered a little relief — and a reminder of how far there is to go.
Rates have drifted down from their highs, but they remain roughly double the sub-3% loans of 2021. For a buyer, the monthly payment math is still punishing, and small moves in rate don’t change that much.
Lower rates do gradually loosen the lock-in effect: as the gap between old and new mortgages narrows, more owners are willing to sell. Inventory has improved at the margin, easing the supply drought that defined 2022–2023.
The setup heading into the new year: more listings, more negotiation, and a market waiting on whether rate relief is real or fleeting. Affordability, not appetite, remains the binding constraint.
Kinan Sawar, MD — REALTOR® at Shorewest, REALTORS®, serving Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth counties). Email: [email protected] · Phone: (618) 713-2964.
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Home values and rents are Zillow ZHVI/ZORI estimates for the named area, as of 2026-07-03; incomes and population are U.S. Census (SAIPE, Population Estimates); migration is IRS Statistics of Income. Area-level statistical estimates for information only — not an appraisal, and not financial, legal, or tax advice.