The Fed Raised Rates for the First Time Since 2023: What It Means for Bay Area Buyers and Sellers
At 11 AM today the Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time since July 2023, a quarter point to 3.75% to 4.00% on a 12 to 0 vote. The odds we printed in our daily report all week said it was coming, and the bond market had already moved. So the useful question is not what happened. It is what actually changes for a buyer or seller in Fremont, Union City, Newark, Milpitas, Hayward or San Jose this fall.
My full write-up on HarvRealtor.net is built around seven charts you can tap, not a wall of text, with the local math in real dollars:
- What the Fed did and what it signaled. The statement, the projections that pencil in one more hike this year, and Chair Warsh's own words on why now.
- The part most headlines get wrong. The Fed does not set your mortgage rate. In September 2024 the Fed cut and mortgage rates rose almost a full point. The 10-year Treasury crossing 5% is the number that moved your quote.
- The Fremont math. On a $1,000,000 loan, a quarter point is about $170 a month, and February to today is $798. A tap-through chart shows the Fed's rate against mortgage rates since 2022, and a table lets you run your own price and down payment against eight rates.
- What buyers should do this week. Pre-approve a notch above today's rate, know your lock, price a buydown, and make the seller's credit do some of the work.
- What sellers should do. Price for 7%, fix what shows, and why a $25,000 rate credit can move a buyer's payment three times as far as a $25,000 price cut.
- What changes today for homeowners. HELOCs, ARMs at reset and credit cards move with the Fed within a billing cycle. A fixed-rate mortgage does not.
Read the Full Article: What the Fed Hike Means for Bay Area Buyers and Sellers »
Want today's numbers first? Our daily report puts the mortgage rate, the 10-year Treasury and the local listing count on one page every weekday morning, and the HELOC and affordability calculators will run your exact balance.
Harv Balu, REALTOR®, GRI, CIPS, PSA, FTBS | REALTY EXPERTS® | DRE# 02195792 | (510) 600-3425 | homes@HarvRealtor.com