Rising interest rates have created a phenomenon in the US known as “housing lock-in” whereby higher prices for new mortgages mean homeowners are less willing to move, research from the Federal Reserve Board says.

The paper argues that lock-in has reduced the number of active real estate listings and raised the asking prices for homes.

The authors – Aditya Aladangady, Jacob Krimmel and Tess Scharlemann – say their work highlights an asymmetry between the effects of rate hikes and rate cuts, with