Rates are near 7% for a 30-year fixed mortgage, highest in two decades. For buyers who can afford it, shopping is less stressful.

Materials and labor costs are up. Building costs will climb further if interest rates on construction loans rise.

In some markets, sellers can no longer bet on multiple offers and quick deals, and buyers can afford to be pickier.

But profit margins are shrinking, and the flipping boom may be coming to an end.

With heightened competition to buy homes, many buyers are waiving inspections and other contingencies.

Most houses sold in about a week, keeping buyers on their toes.

So far, that hasn’t had a chilling effect on applications.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel for folks struggling to buy in a hot housing market?

Matthew Eby, head of the First Street Foundation, wants to help homeowners protect themselves as climate change poses hazards to coastal properties.

And getting a mortgage is harder, too.