Eye On Housing
At the conclusion of its January policy meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee strongly signaled that it will undertake its first, post-covid increase of the federal funds rate in March. The Fed is tightening monetary policy in response to the highest inflation readings in nearly 40 years. These inflationary pressures have increased both consumer costs and businesses input costs, including… Read More ›
At the conclusion of its December policy meeting, the Federal Reserve announced changes to its outlook and projections that move monetary policy further away from the accommodative stance that has supported the economic rebound from the 2020 recession. This pivot toward tighter policy is a direct result of ongoing, elevated inflation data. Today’s announcement makes several changes to both the… Read More ›
The Federal Reserve has supported the housing market during the virus crisis, the 2020 recession, and the subsequent, ongoing recovery via asset-backed purchases (among other tools), including $40 billion a month of mortgage-backed security (MBS) purchases. These MBS purchases have held interest rates lower than they otherwise would have been. Beginning in November, the Fed will reduce the monthly volume of… Read More ›
Today’s Federal Open Market Committee announcement did not provide an explicit reference to an expected tapering of purchases of Treasury ($80 billion a month) and mortgage-backed ($40 billion a month) securities. In addition, as part of its ongoing accommodative policy stance, the Fed held its benchmark target rate near zero percent. In Chairman Powell’s press conference remarks, he stated, “The… Read More ›
The Federal Reserve held the federal funds rate at the current 0% to 0.25% range as it continues to deploy policy tools to underwrite an emerging recovery for the U.S. economy. And it will continue to provide such policy support until the crisis has passed and the economy has recovered. The Fed noted that it will continue its quantitative easing… Read More ›
Information compiled by Freddie Mac shows that mortgage rates decreased on a monthly basis. As of end of March, the 30-year FRM – Commitment rate, declined by two basis points to 3.45 percent from 3.47 percent in February. The cycle peak was 4.87 percent in 2018 November. Given the market volatility due to the rapidly spreading Coronavirus COVID-19, the Federal… Read More ›
Due to the spreading economic damage caused by mitigation efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Federal Reserve provided an immediate round of monetary policy stimulus. The policy announcement included: A cut in the federal funds rate to a top rate of 0.25% The discount rate was effectively lowered from 1.25% to 0.25% as a means of ensuring… Read More ›
Information compiled by Freddie Mac shows that mortgage rates decreased on a month-over-month basis. As of end of February, the 30-year FRM – Commitment rate, declined by 16 basis points to 3.47 percent from 3.62 percent in January. The cycle peak was 4.87 percent in 2018 November. Given the recent market volatility, the Federal Reserve cut the benchmark interest rate… Read More ›
Reacting to the growing demand- and supply-side impacts of the coronavirus, the Federal Reserve FOMC today reduced the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points, lowering the target to 1 1/4 and 1 percent. This is the first time since 2008 the FOMC enacted a federal funds rate cut outside of the typical meeting schedule. It… Read More ›
For the third consecutive month, information compiled by Freddie Mac shows that mortgage rates increased slightly on a year-over-year basis. As of end of December 2019, the 30-year FRM – Commitment rate, increased by two basis points to 3.72 percent from 3.70 percent in November. The cycle peak was 4.87 percent in 2018 November. The Federal Reserve maintained the benchmark… Read More ›