The early 1980s

Homebuilders, mortgage bankers, real estate agents, and homebuyers do not recall the early 1980s fondly. To reduce chronic inflation, the Federal Reserve dramatically raised interest rates causing severe economic recession in the United States. The national unemployment rate peaked at 10.8 percent, the prime-lending rate hit a staggering 18.45 percent, and mortgage interest rates averaged over 16 percent.
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