CARRIE GOLDSTEIN had hoped to move from her Cleveland suburb to Rocky River, where she and her husband could walk to a downtown area and Lake Erie. But the mortgage costs, combined with high home prices, made the move unaffordable, she said. Goldstein’s dilemma comes as borrowing costs have climbed for homebuyers and people financing cars or higher education. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage reached 7.28%, its highest level in nearly three years. At that rate, a buyer of a median-priced home could pay about $900 more than they would have at pandemic-era rates near 3%. The pressure extends beyond housing. Goldstein’s 11-year-old car has 150,000 miles, and repair bills are nearing the car’s value. But a four-year loan for a used vehicle costs about three percentage points more than it did at the start of 2022. “You can’t go and get a car for $150 or $180 bucks anymore a month,” she said. Bond-market yields influence many consumer borrowing rates. They have surged amid concerns about inflation, including market worries tied to the U.S. war with Iran. The Federal Reserve also raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point in September, its first increase this year, and signaled another hike could come before year’s end. The Fed’s rate increases are intended to cool inflation by making borrowing more expensive and discouraging spending. But for households already facing higher prices, that can mean delaying major purchases. John Diamond, senior director of the Center for Tax and Budget Policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute, said higher rates add to the burden of mortgage, student-loan and other payments. The housing market is showing signs of that strain: Existing home sales in August were down about 1.2% from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. Buyers face the combined challenge of high prices and financing costs, while homeowners who might otherwise move may find it difficult to take on a new mortgage. Goldstein said she can wait to replace her car and move, but the arithmetic ended her plans for now. She eventually stopped receiving real-estate updates about the walkable suburb. “It just became more and more disheartening when I did the math,” she said. “It’s just not in the cards.”