Chicago's Mortgage Choice - March 20, 2018 Real Estate Report - The Fed Meets Today

The Federal Reserve Board's Open Market Committee meets today and tomorrow. While the vast majority of the world will be going about their business, thousands of financial analysts will be on the edge of their seats trying to determine what the Fed's direction will be. Like all Americans, they are concerned that the Fed will raise short-term rates. However, this action would not be unexpected, and thus it is not the top concern of these analysts. They are more concerned about what the Fed will say about the future. The markets have already built-in two to four rate increases this year into their thinking. But there is a big difference between two increases and four. Market rates have already moved up in anticipation of these rate hikes. Any talk of accelerating inflation from the Fed and the markets could become amped up further. If the Fed indicates that they remain on a slow and steady path of rate increases, we might see the markets calm down a bit. For the most part, the economic news leading up to the meeting does not seem to indicate an overheating economy -- except for last month's jobs report. Existing home sales are constrained due to tight inventories, personal spending increases have been moderate and so has manufacturing growth. A slow and steady expansion actually could be the best news for all concerned, as we would see continued job gains without rates moving up to a point in which the economy starts to be adversely affected. Keith Stewart 773-529-7000

March 13, 2018 Real Estate Report - The Jobs Machine Hums

The wild year has continued with regard to volatility in the markets, political headlines and, sadly, national tragedies. Through it all, we have seen three patterns emerge. First, the volatility has been focused mostly in the stock and bond markets. Stock gains were some of the strongest in memory in January and the losses in February came close to wiping out those gains. The bond market has been weak, and this has led to higher long-term interest rates. Secondly, we have seen an economy which has continued to strengthen, but not overheat. There is no longer talk of the lack of inflation being a threat to growth. But, on the other hand, inflation has not been a major issue either. Lastly, up until now, jobs growth has been rather steady. Other than a hiccup late last year due to the devastating storms we had during the hurricane season, our jobs growth has been holding at a strong enough level to keep unemployment low. February's job report saw this trend grow stronger with 313,000 jobs added. The unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. With regard to wages, the story there showed no acceleration of wage growth. Overall this report was viewed as good news. For those waiting and wondering what the Federal Reserve Board's Open Market Committee will do with interest rates next week when they meet, the consensus is that this report will not change the odds much that the Fed will increase rates. Nothing is a certainty, but if you listened to the Congressional testimony of the new Chairman, Jerome Powell, a rate hike this month is definitely a strong possibility. Keith Stewart 773-529-7000