Kate Wood

So this is the time where you're going to know like, wow, the heating really isn't that great.

Or are we getting enough natural light?

Or, you know, does it feel like you're in a cave?

Stuff that you wouldn't be able to tell if you were touring the home in warmer weather.

So it might not mean as much as buyers might hope it would.

The Fed does not set mortgage rates, but a lot of people think it does.

The Federal Reserve sets the funds rate, which you just mentioned.

That's a key short-term borrowing rate.

that change ripples out to other interest rates.

Those changes, however, don't directly affect mortgage rates.

What you're really seeing moving when you're seeing mortgage rates moving, you are seeing the markets moving.

So they're responding not even necessarily to the Fed's decisions, but to the Fed's plans, right?

So it's,

Less about, oh, what did they just decide to do?

And what did they say right after in that press conference?

Where did they say that they're heading?

Markets, including bond markets, tend to move ahead of the Fed.

So they're either reacting to rate cuts or rate hikes before they are made.

So mortgage rates tend to move along with 10-year Treasury bills because mortgage-backed securities and those 10-year T-bills tend to appeal to similar investors.

So this is one reason why you'll often see mortgage rates get to where the Fed is going before the central bankers get there.