Kate Wood

So that means folks that are waiting for the Fed to cut rates because they think it will lower mortgage rates are often disappointed.

Because if the Fed is about to make a cut, that often means mortgage rates have already dropped.

right now like anna mentioned the fed chose to hold the fems rate steady they're kind of in wait and see mode for now that's a signal that the economy is stable enough the central bankers don't feel like they need to intervene too much there are some folks out there who are more anxious about the job market and think the fed should cut further but you know until we see dramatically different data we're likely to see the central bankers kind of chill for a while

There's also been a lot of Fed-related news lately, like way more than is ever normal.

But these big changes that people are talking about, like a new Federal Reserve chair this spring, those are not going to have an immediate effect on mortgage rates.

So pending any major surprises from the market and...

I never can count that out.

I've had them ruin too many forecasts to not count them out.

But most economists, most forecasters are expecting mortgage rates to remain in that low 6% range for the near future.

Well, people tend to think of springtime as the traditional home buying season, right?

Growth, rebirth, homes on the market, everything's coming back.

So it is true that peak buying season in terms of homes going under contract, that's April through June.

But in terms of inventory coming on the market, that begins a little earlier than that, usually in February, right after the Super Bowl.

So good news, you might already be seeing more open houses and new listings starting to pop up.

Yes, absolutely.

If you are in that stage where you're just getting started and trying to figure out the money stuff, check out NerdWallet's How Much House Can I Afford calculator.

It's a great place to get started.

Wow, are you sure that was two years ago?

Because that really sounds like 2021.

It just goes to show that real estate is really local.