Key Takeaways High prices and mortgage rates have crushed the housing market, even as other parts of the economy have prospered.A long-standing housing shortage has contributed to the housing crunch, alongside the Federal Reserve's anti-inflation rate hikes, which drove up mortgage rates.Mortgage rates could ease next year, improving the outlook but not necessarily solving the underlying problems. Amid a recent spate of data showing the economy humming along smoothly, one sector has consistently...