The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 25th (local time) that the recession in the U.S. housing market could help the U.S. Federal Reserve suppress inflation next year.

The WSJ analyzed that as the Federal Reserve raised the benchmark interest rate seven times this year to control prices, which have soared to the highest level in more than 40 years, some indicators show that a housing market recession as severe as the 2007-2009 financial crisis is occurring. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage jumped from the 4% range in March to the 7% range in the fall, and as of last month, monthly mortgage repayments in the United States had soared 43% compared to the beginning of the year. WSJ pointed out that the real estate market, which is sensitive to interest rates, is responding particularly quickly this year. The real estate market, which was booming in 2020 thanks to the spread of telecommuting and zero interest rates in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, is cooling down. Last month, the number of existing home sales in the United States recorded 4.09 million (annual rate), showing a decline for the 10th consecutive month. According to Goldman Sachs and Fannie Mae, the number is expected to fall below 4 million next year. The rate of increase in housing rents is also slowing. “We’ve never seen a time when demand for any type of housing was this low,” said Jay Parsons, an analyst at RealPage, a real estate rental software company. “The demand sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated future demand.”