After the pandemic, a rapid rise in home prices coincided with stubbornly high mortgage rates, shutting out potential buyers.
The anticipated interest rate cuts would deliver relief for many consumers -- but not all of them.
A surging economy has complicated the Fed's fight to cool price increases.
The changes are part of a Biden Administration rule intended to provide equitable access to homeownership, but first-time homebuyers with high credit scores would pay more under this new rule.
"Contrary to popular belief," says one loan officer, "Every interest rate that a homebuyer ends up with is pretty much custom-made or tailored to their specific situation."
Home mortgage rates just hit 5% for the first time in more than a decade. That means the monthly cost of buying a typical home has surged by more than a third over the past year.