The Federal Reserve moved forward with a quarter-point interest rate cut , a move that could alleviate borrowing pressure across several sectors.
Thursday’s decision comes following a half-point cut in September. Despite that, mortgage rates have steadily risen over the past several weeks, providing a complicating factor to a largely sluggish housing market.
“I think folks will kind of see where rates go and then make a decision around the beginning of next year,” said Alex Lawrence, a realtor with Dogwood Properties.
For most of the year, 30-year mortgage rates have stayed within six and seven percent, and 15-year mortgage rates have been between five and six-and-a-half percent, rates that are notably higher than a few years earlier.
I think folks will kind of see where rates go and then make a decision
“For a long time, the last couple of years, people said, ‘Hey, I’m going to wait for rates to get back to the two or three percent. I think we’re finally seeing that they’re not going to go back that far,” Lawrence explained.