Team Debs

Real Estate Update
Outlook From U.S. Economic, Housing and Mortgage Market Outlook – August 2024 | Spotlight: Refinance Trends

The overall economy continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace than during the second half of last year. Under our baseline scenario, we expect the slower growth to persist as the labor market weakens further this year and next. With the backdrop of favorable inflation data and a softening labor market, we anticipate the Federal Reserve to initiate rate cuts sooner rather than later. Our baseline scenario predicts a further cooling of inflation, but we expect inflation to remain above the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2% in 2024 and 2025. The anticipation of an upcoming rate cut is already influencing the market, leading to downward pressure on mortgage rates. As a result, we forecast mortgage rates to gradually decline in the coming quarters.