Across America, the dream of homeownership is once again being tested by the weight of rising borrowing costs, as mortgage rates edge toward 7 percent — a threshold that carries both financial and psychological gravity for millions of households. The Federal Reserve, whose policy decisions ripple outward into the daily lives of buyers, sellers, and lenders alike, is expected this week to either deepen that burden or offer a rare moment of pause. In a market already stalled by constrained inventory and inflation-weary consumers, this inflection point speaks to a broader tension in modern econom