The Real Estate News Brief: The Fed’s Crystal Ball, Climate-Friendly Remote Work, NAR Controversy

In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending September 23rd, 2023... the Fed’s forecast on inflation, future rate hikes and the GDP, why remote work is good for the environment, and calls for a major shake-up at NAR.   We begin with economic news from this past week and a message from Fed Chief Jerome Powell. He announced the result of the committee’s September meeting, saying there would be no rate hike at this time, but a majority of Fed officials expect the need for one more quarter-point hike this year. The range is currently 5.25% to 5.5%. 12 Fed officials foresee another hike while seven don’t see them going any higher. Only “one” Fed official expects the need to raise rates above 6% next year...   ...That’s it for today. You can read more about the stories in this episode by following links in the show notes at newsforinvestors.com. And please remember to subscribe to this podcast, and leave a review!   If you’d like to know more about creating a financial safety net with real estate, please sign up for a free RealWealth membership. It’ll take just a minute to sign up and will give you complete access to our website.   Thanks for listening! Kathy Fettke   Links:   1 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-skips-september-rate-hike-doesnt-rule-out-november-rise-38887479?mod=federal-reserve   2 - https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/20/fed-signals-it-will-raise-rates-one-more-time-this-year-before-it-ends-hiking-campaign.html   3 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-fall-to-8-month-low-of-201-000-c593f45f?mod=economy-politics   4 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-sales-fall-in-august-to-the-lowest-level-in-nine-months-ede3e35f?mod=economic-report   5 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-housing-starts-drops-to-lowest-level-since-june-2020-daac45   6 - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/builder-confidence-index-falls-to-five-month-low-amid-high-mortgage-rates-6d3a2572?mod=economy-politics   7 - https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms   8 - https://gizmodo.com/working-remotely-could-cut-worker-emissions-in-half-1850853923   9 - https://therealdeal.com/national/2023/09/19/nar-staffers-call-for-leadership-overhaul-amid-controversy/