"Housing Industry Urges Fed to Halt Interest Rate Hikes for Market Certainty"

The National Association of Home Builders, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and the National Association of Realtors have written a letter to the Federal Reserve urging them to stop raising interest rates due to surging housing costs and a shortage of available homes for sale. The groups ask the Fed not to contemplate further rate hikes and not to sell its holdings of mortgage securities until the housing market stabilizes. The housing market is currently facing constrained inventory levels, rising prices, and decreased sales volumes. The letter highlights that the rate hikes have exacerbated housing affordability issues and created disruptions in the real estate market. The Fed has reduced its mortgage holdings by nearly $230 billion since June 2022, but concerns remain about the possibility of the Fed actively selling its mortgage-backed securities holdings.