US Homebuyers Give Up On Lower Rates

Hope may not be a strategy, but giving up hope might be. So suggested the amusing first line in one mainstream financial media outlet's coverage of pending home sales data covering November, when contract activity managed a fourth consecutive monthly gain. I'd say that came despite still-elevated rates, but the opposite might be the case: Buyers might've simply given up on lower rates, deciding instead to pull the trigger knowing there's no point in waiting around -- so, in some sense they're