Sellers do have much to lose. I think you're saying they have 30%+ in equity so why not sell and use it? Well they have 30%+ equity AND low interest rates.
If they sell, they need to buy again at a higher interest rate. So they can sell at a profit but then monthly payments will be higher.
Anyway, this is only 1 scenario. Urban areas are hit hard NYC/SF and sellers are sitting out waiting for recovery, so they rent them out.
My claim about ‘not losing much’ was more that many sellers would have had the property since before 2019 so in some sense they could feel like they didn’t lose anything if they just forget the 30% rise since 2019. But I guess you’re right about many not wanting to lose long mortgage terms at low rates (this does feel like a US-specific thing though hard to change in the short term as mortgages would have been priced based on the current rules)
If they sell, they need to buy again at a higher interest rate. So they can sell at a profit but then monthly payments will be higher.
Anyway, this is only 1 scenario. Urban areas are hit hard NYC/SF and sellers are sitting out waiting for recovery, so they rent them out.