By Connie Kim | Housingwire
The Federal Reserve’s 75 basis point interest rate hike – its largest since 1994 – proves the central bank is laser-focused on slowing inflation, but loan officers and housing economists don’t expect mortgage rates to come down until consumer prices fall.
The federal funds rate doesn’t directly dictate mortgage rates, but it does steer market activity to create higher rates and reduce demand. So far, the short-term fed funds rate that the Fed directly controls has risen by 175 basis points but the 30-year fixed rate mortgage has risen by nearly 300 basis points, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
