The median sale price of a previously owned single-family house dropped below $1 million in January, for the first time since August 2021. Not that homes have suddenly become “affordable” — that median price is $970,000 — but it is an 8% drop from January 2022 (when interest rates were at historic lows).

As mortgage interest rates rise, prices fall — makes sense. But the supply of houses for sale has dropped to lows not seen since the depth of the Great Recession, in 2009. Would-be sellers may be sitting pat, hoping to maximize their selling price; would-be buyers no doubt hope more houses come to market, costing less.