The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached 7% the last week of September. Some are reporting this is the highest sense mid 2008. How does this affect sellers? Higher borrowing costs have already begun to cut into sales. The high appreciation of homes in the Richmond Va metro of recent years has came to a screeching halt. Many are in fact seeing depreciation of homes, in some areas, as we enter the Holiday Season, final quarter of 2022. How does it affect buyers? With mortgage rates over double what they recently were, buyers seeking a mortgage on a budget have less spending power as compared to when rates were less than half.