Thanks to the Federal Reserve, mortgage rates have risen to very alarming levels, and this has scared millions of potential homebuyers out of the market.  Compared to two years ago, the average potential homebuyer is facing mortgage payments that are close to $1,000 per month higher.   I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't want to pay $1,000 more each month for the exact same house.  So most potential homebuyers are staying out of the market until interest rates come down, and that could be a while, because officials at the Fed do not plan to reduce rates for the foreseeable future.

On Thursday, we learned that sales of pre-owned homes fell 3.3 percent last month.  Overall, they have now dropped to the lowest level that we have seen during the month of June since 2009…