Mortgage rates

But growing worries about a possible recession may also end up playing a role in their direction over the coming weeks.

The moves were widely anticipated, with the markets already pricing them in, as the central bank attempts to get the upper hand on record-setting inflation.

The Federal Reserve delivered the biggest hike in interest rates since 2000 and announced it would start shrinking its massive balance sheet next month, deploying the most aggressive tightening of monetary policy in decades to combat soaring inflation.

Nearly two-thirds were willing to make an offer within three days of viewing a house; 20% stated they would do so on the same day.

But the recent spike has contributed to a noticeable downturn in purchase demand, according to Freddie Mac.

Recent affordability and interest rate trends led to “clear evidence” of discouragement among potential consumers in the purchase market in the first three months of 2022, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell outlined his most aggressive approach to taming inflation to date, potentially endorsing two or more half percentage-point interest-rate increases while describing the labor market as overheated.

The unexpectedly swift increase may dampen some of the home-buying demand seen in the past year.

Money markets already betting on an almost half-point Federal Reserve rate hike next month received a wake-up call Monday from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard who said a three-quarter-point increase shouldn’t be ruled out.

Researchers at the government-sponsored enterprise noted the role rising rates are playing in increasing housing costs in its report, now offered publicly for the first time.