Treasury secretary calls on Fed to cut rates to help housing market
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday that he thinks the U.S. is in a housing recession caused by high interest rates.
"I think that we are in good shape, but I think that there are sectors of the economy that are in recession," he said in an interview with CNN.
Bessent went on to say that "the biggest hindrance for housing" has been elevated mortgage rates.
"If the Fed brings down mortgage rates, then they can end this housing recession," he added.
While the central bank doesn't set mortgage rates directly, its decisions and policies often send ripple effects through investment markets.
Tariffs could cost holiday shoppers an additional $132 this year
An analysis of holiday spending in 2024 revealed that tariffs could add more than $40 billion in expenses for consumers and retailers.
The report from personal finance site LendingTree found that based on last year's spending, consumers could spend an additional $28.6 billion on holiday spending this year as a result of tariffs.
That comes out to about an additional $132 per person, according to the analysis, which suggested clothing and electronics would be the most affected categories.
“For most Americans, spending an extra $132 at the holidays is significant,” according to Matt Schulz, LendingTree's chief consumer finance analyst. “While it may not be earth-shattering, it can have a real impact on many families."
“I doubt that we’ll see a huge drop-off in the amount of electronics and clothes that are gifted this year, simply because they’re what so many people want," he added. "However, for some, higher prices may leave them no choice.”
Mortgage rates climb to three-week high
Daily measures of mortgage rates continued to inch upwards on Monday.
By the end of the day, the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was up about 0.06 percentage points to 6.34%, according to data from Mortgage News Daily.
It's a reversal of the downward trend that was manifesting in the market earlier this fall, and it comes after Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, left investors wary that the central bank will cut interest rates in December.
That's not what investors expected to hear, and the mix-up has sent mortgage rates higher.
Even so, mortgage rates are still, on the whole, lower than they were earlier this year, according to Matthew Graham, chief operating officer of Mortgage News Daily.
"Up until last week's Fed announcement, the average 30yr fixed mortgage rate was at the lowest levels in more than a year," he wrote in a Monday blog post. "Although these past 2 post-Fed episodes have resulted in somewhat volatile bounces, rates are still far closer to long-term lows than they are to the summertime highs."