The latest report from the Federal Reserve sent the industry into panic mode since it eliminated the word “patient” from its outlook on interest rates. As a result, it indicates that the reserve could soon raise rates, which have been stuck at near zero for over six years, as early as June, according to an article in Forbes authored by Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American.
According to the latest meeting minutes, the Federal Open Market Committee once again decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rates at 0-0.25%.
The collapse of the housing market and its ripple effects led the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, in part to ensure that the country’s housing market did not completely crumble.
This is why some housing market experts are now sounding the alarm about an interest rate hike: The conventional wisdom holds that the housing market suffers when rates rise, causing affordability to drop.
Fleming explained how the conventional wisdom for the housing market isn’t weak in two ways. Here is a peak at the first:
First, the housing market isn’t nearly as weak as most experts claim it is. The foreclosure rate has dropped rapidly since its peak.
