Since 1985, average mortgage interest rates have fluctuated from a low of 4.25% to a high of 14%. Is there a relationship between the amount of money people borrow and the interest rate that’s...

Since 1985, average mortgage interest rates have fluctuated from a low of 4.25% to a high of 14%. Is there a relationship between the amount of money people borrow and the interest rate that’s offered? Below is a scatterplot of Mortgage Loan Amounts in the US (in thousands of dollars) versus Interest Rate (in percent) at various times over the past 26 years.

Which is the response variable and which is the explanatory variable?

Suppose the linear regression model for this data is ? ̂ = 189.674 − 42.235?. Interpret the slope in the context of this scenario.