Market Pulse September 2024: Feds lower rates by 0.5%, will lower mortgages follow?

As anticipated this September, the Federal Reserve lowered rates 0.5% or 50 basis points. Many are hopeful to see the housing market follow suit with lower mortgage rates, but what can buyers and sellers really expect at this point and in the future?

According to a recent analysis by Realtor.com, 30-year mortgage rate forecasts looking to Q4 2025 range from 6.2% as predicted by Fannie Mae down to a more aggressive 5.9% forecasted by Wells Fargo. 

Abio Properties broker and co-owner Cameron Platt weighed in during an interview with CBS News Bay Area KPIX-TV on what this may mean for buyers.

"Realistically I think we have still a ways to go before we get into the territory that really moves buyers and demand," he told CBS News, indicating that this is a good starting point for the economy, but coming with a price for home buyers in the market who are largely still waiting to see how things work out.

Brady Thomas, Senior Mortgage Advisor, with LaSalle Mortgage has been monitoring any ripple effects so far into the mortgage market, “The Fed did what we all hoped for…but...the market did not cooperate.

‘After the cut, we saw mortgage rates move up (not down)...The reason for this rise in rates, even though we got the 'big cut', is that the Fed was not as forceful as many had hoped in telegraphing aggressive future cuts. While we got the win in the moment...the market is grappling with the idea that the long-term benefits are not as strong as we had hoped....

'I do believe that rates will continue to come down. It will just take some patience. This is not going to be a straight line towards low rates.”

The message to buyers, sellers, and their agents for now is clear…hang in there and practice some zen. We are 6 weeks away from election day, and holidays will be here in a blink of an eye. All indicators point to lowering mortgage rates and much more activity by the time we warm up from winter to what could be a very active Spring 2025 home selling and buying season.

Here's what else happened with East Bay home sales as of September

Here is the latest market data from around the East Bay for single-family homes, condos, and townhomes available as of September 2024.

Sources: Realtor.com, Freddie Mac, CPI Index (US Bureau of Labor Statistics), Brady Thomas/LaSalle Mortgage

Here's what else happened with East Bay home sales as of September 2024

Here is the latest market data from around the East Bay for single-family homes, condos, and townhomes available as of September 2024.

Alameda County - Single Family Homes

Alameda County - Condos & Townhomes

Contra Costa County - Single-Family Homes

Contra Costa County - Condos & Townhomes

Sources: Bay East Association of Realtors and Contra Costa Association of Realtors.

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