Right, but don’t ignore the knock on effects of housing payments sucking up more cash, reducing consumer spending. And it won’t be fun refinancing at a higher rate and finding out your house is worth less than when you bought it.

I don’t think our government will let interest rates go up. It should have happened a decade ago, but they kept lowering them instead (and watched the bubble grow). It’s political suicide at this point to do it in any meaningful amount.

> these borrowers can afford the higher rates.

Not at all what I’ve been reading. We have a record high 2.5 trillion in mortgage debt, and a lot of that debt (especially in the last year) is high risk.

Both banks and credit unions are required to perform the stress test. The biggest source of fraud is likely loans from parents marked as gifts, but it doesn't change the borrowers have to show evidence they can handle 5% interest rates on the mortgage portion.