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2025-09-19 00:56:09
The future of US mortgage rates remains uncertain after the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday. Mortgage rates have quietly risen after the Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday—a counterintuitive but common phenomenon. Freddie Mac data showed that as of Wednesday, mortgage rates were stable at 6.26%, the lowest level since early October 2024. However, most of Freddie Mac's data was collected before the Fed cut. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday: "We don't set mortgage rates, but our policy rate changes tend to have an impact on them. This impact is already being seen, and of course, it will also boost (housing) demand." The next direction of mortgage rates remains uncertain. The Fed cut interest rates three times between September and December of last year, but mortgage rates continued to rise during the same period. Data released on Wednesday showed that Fed officials expect two more rate cuts this year, but they remain divided on the short-term economic outlook. "Because financial markets are pricing in a faster pace of monetary policy easing than the Fed actually will, further significant declines in mortgage rates are unlikely," Zillow Senior Economist Orphe Divounguy said in a statement.
