Low mortgage rates keep owners in their houses longer

ASU expert weighs in on how historically low mortgage rates are keeping homeowners in their houses longer, creating a 'lock-in' effect that limits housing inventory, slows market movement, and could continue shaping the housing market for years.

In this interview aired Feb. 19, 2026, on Arizona Horizon:

Wages have to rise in line with the rising price of homes. Homes [rates] continue to rise, though at a slower pace than before, and they're not going down. We are doing things that are making labor much more expensive and much more difficult... construction prices, tariffs… don't help. Pricing is a little easier, but not enough… land and finding available land that's cheap enough.

— Mark Stapp, Fred E. Taylor Professor in Real Estate, executive director of the Master of Real Estate Development program, and director of the Experiential Learning Lab