{"id":2067376,"date":"2023-10-14T13:17:01","date_gmt":"2023-10-14T17:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/housing-groups-urged-the-fed-to-stop-raising-interest-rates-as-the-industry-suffers\/"},"modified":"2023-10-14T13:21:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-14T17:21:01","slug":"housing-groups-urged-the-fed-to-stop-raising-interest-rates-as-the-industry-suffers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/housing-groups-urged-the-fed-to-stop-raising-interest-rates-as-the-industry-suffers\/","title":{"rendered":"Housing groups plead with Fed to halt interest rate hikes amid industry struggles."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhousing-groups-urged-the-fed-to-stop-raising-interest-rates-as-the-industry-suffers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2067376&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Three\u200c Top Housing \u200cGroups\u2063 Call on \u2062Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to \u2063Stop Increasing Interest Rates<\/h2>\n<p>Three leading housing organizations have joined forces to urge Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to halt the ongoing increase in interest rates. The Mortgage Bankers\u200b Association,\u200d the National \u2064Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Home Builders have expressed their deep concern about \u2064the impact of the \u2063Fed&#8217;s rate hikes on the housing industry, which\u200c is already \u2062grappling with a historic shortage of affordable homes.<\/p>\n<p>In a letter dated October 9, the housing groups emphasized that the uncertainty \u200csurrounding the\u2063 Fed&#8217;s rate path has contributed to recent\u2063 interest rate hikes\u2063 and market volatility. They argue that \u2062these rate increases have worsened housing affordability and caused disruptions \u200bin the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-cuts-key-interest-rate-amid-property-slump-currency-risks\/\" title=\"China reduces interest rate due to property market decline and currency instability.\">real \u2063estate market<\/a>,\u200b which is\u200d already\u2062 struggling due to \u200da significant decline in mortgage origination\u200c and home sale volume.<\/p>\n<p>The housing groups also \u200battribute the high inflation to increasing shelter costs, including rent\u2062 and\u2063 mortgage \u2063payments. In\u2062 September, shelter costs were\u200d the largest \u2062contributor to the\u200d Consumer Price Index, rising 0.6 percent monthly and 7.2 percent from the \u2063previous year.<\/p>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/opinion\/michael-taube-if-the-feds-want-to-tackle-inflation-and-the-affordability-crisis-here-are-some-ideas-5481764?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><strong>Michael Taube: \u2063If\u2063 the Feds Want to Tackle Inflation\u200c and the Affordability Crisis, Here Are Some Ideas<\/strong><\/a>  &#8211; Published on 8\/28\/2023<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/world\/city-and-regional-housing-supply-significantly-underestimated-analysis-reveals-5508890?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><strong>City \u200band Regional Housing Supply Needs &#8216;Significantly&#8217; Underestimated, Analysis Reveals<\/strong><\/a>  &#8211; Published\u2063 on 10\/12\/2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The housing groups warn that further\u2062 interest rate hikes could pose significant risks to economic growth and increase the\u2063 likelihood of a \u2063recession. They urge \u2064the \u200dFed \u200bto \u2062refrain \u2062from considering additional rate\u200b hikes and \u2063to hold off on selling its \u200cmortgage-backed securities until the \u200dhousing \u200dmarket stabilizes.<\/p>\n<p>The Federal Reserve declined to comment \u2062on the matter when approached by \u200bThe Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<h2>Mortgage \u200cRates Reach Historical High<\/h2>\n<p>Housing costs have skyrocketed this year,\u2062 with average monthly mortgage payments and rents\u200d exceeding \u2064$2,000. Experts attribute this surge to a shortage of housing supply and\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/janet-yellen-as-congress-for-billions-to-help-other-countries-debt-relief-climate-change-initiatives\/\" title=\"Janet Yellen As Congress For Billions To Help Other Countries\u2019 \u2018Debt Relief,\u2019 \u2018Climate Change\u2019 Initiatives\">higher interest rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The housing market has been\u200b severely impacted since the Fed began raising interest rates from near zero\u2064 percent in March 2022\u2063 to \u20635.25 percent in an effort to combat inflation.<\/p>\n<p>These rate hikes \u200dhave also influenced other\u200b rates, \u2064particularly the 10-year Treasury\u2062 yield, which is closely tied \u2063to \u2063mortgage rates. According to Freddie Mac, mortgage rates\u200b have reached a\u200b 23-year high of 7.57\u200c percent.<\/p>\n<p>As a result,\u200b many\u200d potential homebuyers are\u2064 hesitant to enter the\u2062 market due to \u2063increased borrowing \u2063costs. Existing homeowners are also reluctant to sell their properties to avoid\u200d losing their current low mortgage rates secured during\u200d the pandemic. This \u200bhas led\u200d to\u2064 a \u2064decrease in housing transactions, \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/housing-groups-urged-the-fed-to-stop-raising-interest-rates-as-the-industry-suffers\/\" title=\"Housing groups plead with Fed to halt interest rate hikes amid industry struggles.\">negatively impacting real estate brokers<\/a> \u200band agents.<\/p>\n<h2>Increase \u2063or Pause?<\/h2>\n<p>After <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mortgage-rates-climb-to-highest-level-since-2002\/\" title=\"Mortgage rates reach 2002's peak.\">raising interest\u200c rates<\/a> by over five percentage points in the past 19 months, \u2063the Fed is now \u2062considering whether to \u2063continue \u2062increasing the benchmark lending rate. In their September meeting, they decided to keep \u200drates unchanged.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, the\u200c futures market \u200bindicates a potential rate pause at \u200dthe upcoming policy-setting meetings in November and December of the Federal Open Market\u200c Committee (FOMC).<\/p>\n<p>Some \u2064Fed officials believe that interest rates are already high enough, and \u2062the recent rally in Treasury\u200c yields \u2064could assist in\u200b achieving the\u2064 central bank&#8217;s objectives.<\/p>\n<p>The minutes from\u200c the September FOMC \u2063meeting reveal that officials debated whether to implement one more\u200c rate increase. While some \u2063participants favored another increase, others \u2063believed that no\u2062 further hikes would be necessary until inflation returns \u200dto the target level of \u20642 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Although policymakers agree on\u2064 the need \u2062for cautious decision-making, they \u200cconcur that\u2063 policy should remain restrictive until they are confident\u2064 that inflation is sustainably \u200bdecreasing.<\/p>\n<p><em>Andrew Morgan\u2063 and \u200bTom Ozimek contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What \u2063risks do \u2064further interest rate hikes pose to\u200c economic growth and the\u200b likelihood \u200bof a recession, according to the housing groups<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Been grappling with an \u2063acute\u200b shortage of affordable homes,\u2064 and\u2062 the recent increase in interest rates \u2062has further exacerbated the problem. This has \u2064led three top housing groups, namely the Mortgage Bankers\u200b Association,\u200d the National \u2064Association of \u2063Realtors, and the National Association \u200dof Home Builders,\u200c to come together and call on Federal\u200b Reserve Chair \u2063Jerome Powell to\u200c put\u200d a stop \u200cto \u200bthe ongoing rate hikes.<\/p>\n<p>In a joint letter dated October 9, \u200bthese housing organizations voiced their deep \u2064concern regarding the impact of the Federal Reserve&#8217;s\u200b rate increases on the housing industry. They highlighted the\u200c uncertainty\u200b surrounding the Fed&#8217;s rate path as a contributing factor to recent interest\u2063 rate hikes and market\u200b volatility. According to the groups, these rate increases have worsened housing affordability and caused disruptions in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/2021-cant-be-any-worse-can-it\/\" title=\"2021 Can't Be Any Worse, Can It?!\">real estate market<\/a>, which is already struggling due to a \u200csignificant decline in mortgage origination\u200c and home sale volume.<\/p>\n<p>The housing groups further attributed the high inflation to increasing shelter costs, including rent\u2062 and\u2063 mortgage \u2063payments. In\u2064 September, \u2064shelter costs were\u200c the\u200c largest contributor to the Consumer Price Index, rising 0.6 percent monthly and 7.2\u2062 percent from the \u2063previous year. \u2063This\u2064 highlights \u2062the urgency\u2063 of\u2064 addressing the affordability crisis in the housing\u200c market.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200drisks \u200cassociated with further interest rate hikes were also underscored by the \u200chousing groups. They warned that\u200c such moves could\u2063 pose significant risks to economic growth and increase the likelihood\u200c of a recession. In light of\u2064 this, the\u200c groups \u200burged \u2062the Federal Reserve to refrain from\u200b considering additional rate hikes and to\u200c hold off on selling its\u200d mortgage-backed securities until the housing market stabilizes.<\/p>\n<p>However, the Federal Reserve has declined to\u200c comment on the matter when approached by The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>In a \u200drelated development, mortgage rates have reached historical highs, further \u2063adding\u2064 to the burden of housing costs. Average monthly mortgage payments\u2062 and rents have exceeded \u2064$2,000 this year. Experts attribute this surge to the\u2063 shortage of housing supply and higher interest \u2062rates.<\/p>\n<p>The combination of the housing \u200bshortage and rising interest rates\u200b has made \u2064it increasingly difficult \u200dfor individuals and\u2064 families to find affordable\u200d housing options.\u200b This has far-reaching implications for \u2062both the housing market and the broader economy, as the stability\u200b and affordability of housing play a\u200c crucial \u200crole in\u2064 overall economic well-being.<\/p>\n<p>In \u200bconclusion, the joint call by the\u2062 Mortgage Bankers\u200b Association,\u200d the National \u2064Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Home Builders to halt the ongoing increase\u2063 in \u200binterest rates reflects the concerns of the housing industry regarding the impact of these rate hikes. The housing market is already grappling with a \u200chistoric \u2064shortage of affordable homes, and further rate hikes could exacerbate the situation. It is imperative for the Federal Reserve to carefully consider the consequences of its policies on the \u200bhousing industry and the overall economy as \u200dit charts its course for the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three leading housing groups have urged Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to halt interest rate hikes due to the industry&#8217;s severe shortage of affordable housing. The Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors, and National Association of Home Builders conveyed their deep concerns in an Oct. 9 letter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2488,"featured_media":2067377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2067376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2488"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2067376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2067376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2067377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2067376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2067376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2067376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}