Wendy Cordero 
The National Desk
Home prices increased last quarter in 85% of markets, the National Association of Realtors® reported this week. And 15% of the 221 markets tracked by the NAR had double-digit price gains. Another 14% of markets had price declines. Jessica Lautz, NAR's deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said Friday that they saw some softening in the rising home prices early last year before they gained some renewed strength later in the year. Lautz said the higher mortgage rates alone have greatly affected home affordability. She said, for example, that a $400,000 house at the current rate costs a family about $700 more per month than the same house would have at a 3% rate in years past. "It's a huge difference, keeping everything steady," she said. "And I think what we're looking at in that scenario is many current homeowners would not be able to afford the marketplace today, even purchasing their exact same home if the home did not go up in price, which it likely did."
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