The face-off 

It’s tough out there for homebuyers. The median U.S. home price just broke the $400,000 mark for the first time ever (it’s at $407,600 to be exact, up 14.8% from a year ago, according to the latest figures). On top of that, the cost of a 30-year fixed rate mortgage has gotten much pricier too, with rates soaring to 5.51%, up from 2.88% a year ago.

Though…