Fed cuts interest rates for first time in nine months

Central bank’s quarter-point cut not as big as Trump hoped

Key Points

• The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point, the first such cut in nine months, though it was not as drastic as President Donald Trump desired.
• The real estate industry hopes lower rates could stimulate commercial transactions and help address the housing affordability crisis.
• While mortgage rates recently dropped, they do not directly follow the Fed`s interest rate changes and it`s uncertain how much further they will fall.

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RSK: Probably will not have much of an effect on commercial rates, as much of that had already been discounted in. But residential mortgage rates took their steepest drop.