EVERYTHING IS GOING SWIMMINGLY: House Rich, Cash Poor: America’s New Retirement Trap. “Wells Fargo warned on Oct. 26 in an economics research note that if interest rates remain higher for longer, it will discourage prospective sellers with low-rate mortgages from putting their homes on the market even amid a shortage of inventory and even though they need the cash. At a hair under 7.8% as of Oct. 26, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is more than double its level since the Federal Reserve began the first of 11 rate hikes in March 2022, according to Freddie Mac.”