Sen. Elizabeth Warren pushes Fed Chair Powell to cut ‘astronomical’ rates, ease housing pressure – By Rebecca Picciotto (CNBC) / Jan 28, 2024
- Elizabeth Warren and three other Democrats urged Fed Chair Jerome Powell to bring down interest rates at the upcoming Fed meeting to expand affordable housing.
- Home prices surged at the start of the pandemic and have remained high due to both record-high rates over the past few years and a supply shortage.
- Consumers are starting to get more optimistic about the housing market after the Fed announced in December that it saw rate cuts in 2024.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and three other Democratic lawmakers are pushing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates at the upcoming Fed meeting to make housing more affordable.
“As the Fed weighs its next steps in the new year, we urge you to consider the effects of your interest rate decisions on the housing market,” the senators wrote in a letter to Powell on Sunday.
“The direct effect of these astronomical rates has been a significant increase in the overall home purchasing cost to the average consumer,” the letter said.
“We have received the letter and plan to respond,” a Fed spokesperson told CNBC.
