U.S. mortgage rates are the lowest in at least four decades, with a 30-year fixed loan available at 4.09 percent. That didn’t help Alexis Wolf buy a town home in Beaverton, Ore. “Unless you have family help, you’re stuck renting,” said Wolf, 26, a real estate broker who turned to relatives for a loan because she didn’t have the credit and employment history needed to qualify for a mortgage. Wolf’s experience illustrates the predicament for Federal Reserve policy makers as they end a two-day meeting today to consider ways to boost economic growth. Low interest rates, the traditional medicine for a flagging economy, aren’t helping housing, which since 1982 has aided every recovery except the current one.
Fed has few tools to fix economy weakened by housing market
September 21, 2011, 12:48pm
Jason Philyaw was a reporter with HousingWire through mid-2012.see full bio
Most Popular Articles
Latest Articles
Boston’s international business boom equals more demand for housing
For real estate professionals, international business shows up in relocation traffic, rental demand and luxury purchases tied to expansion.
-
Trump says Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac IPO still on the table
-
Akron looks to deflate minimum lot size rules to spur infill
-
Mortgage Forward to acquire First Federal Bank’s TPO division
-
Nest Egg Protection Act would raise capital gains tax exclusion for senior home sellers
-
Drees Homes bets on operational leadership for next century
Jason Philyaw was a reporter with HousingWire through mid-2012.see full bio