It will take more than just a drop in interest rates to save the housing market

The Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut last week has given prospective homebuyers something to celebrate: lower borrowing costs.

The half-percentage-point cut took rates off a 23-year high, where they’d been for more than a year, and the central bank signaled that more cuts could be on the way.

But while lower mortgage rates may translate to more buying power for homebuyers, America’s housing market woes aren’t likely to be solved solely by rate cuts.

A shortage of homes for sale, combined with rising expenses like homeowners’ insurance and rent, have made the cost of both owning and renting a home in America increasingly unaffordable for many, taking an ever-growing share of Americans’ paychecks and savings accounts.

 

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