Key takeaways
- The FOMC sets a target range for the federal funds rate, not your mortgage coupon directly.
- Short-term yields and bank products often follow faster than 30-year mortgages.
- Expectations of the next meetings move markets before the actual vote.
When the Federal Reserve “cuts rates,” it is adjusting a target for overnight bank funding. Prime, credit-card APRs, HELOCs, and some savings rates tend to follow with a lag. Thirty-year mortgage rates live in a longer market that also prices inflation and term premium. That is why a cut can coincide with higher mortgage quotes if the long end sells off.
Follow FOMC statements and the New York Fed’s page on the funds rate. Not a timing tool.
