COLORADO SPRINGS — The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a half point on Wednesday. This is the first cut since 2020. What does this mean for the housing market?
WATCH: Federal Reserve lowers interest rates for first time in four years
Colorado Springs Realtor, John Harding, said this interest rate cut is what home buyers and sellers have been waiting for. He said this cut will allow more people to purchase homes.
John has worked as a realtor in Colorado Springs for 20 years.
“We've been waiting for this. This is great news for everyone, for buyers and sellers,” John said.
He said when the interest rate drops, so do homeowners' monthly payments.
“It's a domino effect. If rates come down that means monthly payments come down, monthly payments come down that means more buyers can have a mortgage. The more buyers that are out there purchasing homes, quicker homes are in the cell for sellers,” John said.
John said any rate decrease is a huge gain for buyers and sellers.
“It's basically supply and demand right now. There's a lot of homes out there on the market and buyers just can't make that monthly payment. When that payment comes down, it makes those homes more accessible to the buyers, so sellers sell quicker and buyers get into the home they want to,” John said.
High interest rates make it harder for realtors to sell.
“Last year we saw a 30% decrease in real estate sales across the country primarily because the rates were so high the buyers couldn't afford to purchase a home,” John said.
People who bought homes when the interest rates were high will now be able to refinance their homes at a lower interest rate, according to John.
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.5% making the interest range now between 4.47% and 5%. So how much money will this save homeowners or buyers?
If your home is 500 thousand dollars and the interest rate is 5% the monthly payment would be $2,500.
The previous Federal Interest rate was around 5.5%, that monthly payment would be of 2,750 for a $500,000 house. Wednesday's 0.5% cut is a $250 difference.
“So that is a huge amount of savings at a monthly payment,” John said.
There are also usually taxes and insurance apart from your payment.
“There would never be a better time for rates to come down and that's because everything has gone to go to the grocery store. Prices have gone up 50% of 100% and any savings families could enjoy would be incredible right now,” John said.
He said more people can buy homes because of this move.
"There's so many people that want to buy a home, so many buyers out there that would love to join the American dream. This might put it in the grasp,” John said.
The housing market is not the only area impacted. Other consumer loans like car loans will get cheaper with this rate cut.
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