The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at its latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting on September 19-20 but hinted that further hikes could come before the end of the year. Following the meeting, Marty Green spoke with reporters about the impact of the Fed’s actions on mortgage rates and the residential real estate market.
“It was no real surprise that the Fed left rates unchanged today,” Green said. “The overall data continues to point to an accelerating slowdown, but also continues to be mixed because of some lagging indicators. With rates elevated into restrictive territory, I expect the Fed to be patient and hold off on any additional increases until it becomes clearer that an additional rate hike is warranted.”
Green further added that “we are clearly in the flat portion of a bicycle race—the rapid ascent is mostly behind us, but we may be peddling for a while before we see any sign of a gradual descent. In my view, this means the mortgage interest rate environment will continue to bounce sideways through the next several months.”
Green’s comments were included in the following coverage:
- GlobeSt: The Fed Pauses Rate Hikes. For Now
- InsuranceNewsNet: Fed: No interest rate change, but future tweak possible
- Scotsman Guide: As expected, Fed leaves anchor interest rate untouched after latest meeting
- HousingWire: No sign of relief in housing even as the Fed holds rates steady
- Yahoo! Finance: No sign of relief in housing even as the Fed holds rates steady
- Mortgage Professional America: Mortgage rates stabilize after Fed skips rate hike