Rather than raising interest rates this Wednesday, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at an average 6.95%, and though experts say a sharp decline isn’t likely in 2023, slower inflation could send rates into the low 6% range by the end of the year. Home prices are also expected to fall during the next six months as housing activity slows and shelter inflation eases.
Inflation rose 4% year-over-year in May, and while that’s double the Fed’s 2% target, it’s below April’s 4.9% year-over-year jump and is a major drop from the 9.1% surge seen last June, Realtor.com reports.
“Activity in the housing sector remains weak, largely reflecting higher mortgage rates,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during a Wednesday press conference. “Certainly, housing is very interest rate-sensitive, and it’s the first place, really, or one of the first places, that’s either helped by lower rates or is held back by higher rates. And we certainly saw that over the course of the last year. We now see housing putting in a bottom and maybe moving up a little bit. We’re watching that situation carefully.”
Advertisement
Related Stories
Housing Markets
Metros Where Housing Prices Have Doubled in Less Than 10 Years
Historical data show it's taken less than 10 years for home prices to double in 68 of the country’s 100 largest cities
Housing Policy + Finance
Even With Inflation Running Hot and Elevated Mortgage Rates, Buyer Demand Rises
Mortgage rates will likely stay high for the next few months, but that doesn't seem to be deterring homebuyers
Financing
Q1 2024 Foreclosure Activity Rises Slightly
Data show New York, Houston, and Chicago topping the list of major metros with the greatest number of foreclosure starts during Q1 2024