Sales of previously owned homes declined 1.5% in September from the prior month, a response to rising mortgage rates, which reached 6.94 percent this week. Following the Fed’s rate increases, the average rate on a 30-year-fixed-rate mortgage is at its highest level in two decades. Many current homeowners have mortgage rates below 4 percent, and Some buyers no longer qualify for mortgages at current rates. Some prospective sellers are holding off on selling their homes rather than buying new ones at a higher borrowing cost.