Survey Says Majority Want Interest Rate Cuts

Nearly two out of three people surveyed say the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates to improve the ailing U.S. housing market, according to a new poll conducted by Housing Predictor. The online survey was conducted by Housing Predictor, which forecasts more than 250 local housing market futures in all 50 states.

A large majority of 64% said the Fed needs to cut interest rates further to help get the housing market on the course to recovery. While 36% said they do not need to cut rates.

The survey was conducted during the month of November before Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke made remarks last Thursday, indicating the Fed will do what�s needed to assist the housing market and other financial markets to get on track to recovery from the credit crunch. The national economy has been riddled by a series of down falls since the subprime crisis developed this last summer.

Foreclosures are at record highs and reports indicate the epidemic of foreclosures has doubled over the last year. More than two million adjustable rate mortgages are set to reset in the next 18 months, which will provide another round of foreclosures. Home prices are falling at the fastest rate since the Great Depression in many housing markets and economists generally see no end in sight to the financial chaos.

The Fed has cut interest rates twice and injected more money into the economy in an attempt to settle the problems in the last quarter, but the cuts have done little else to lower interest rates on home mortgages, which are still historically at low levels. However, after more than a decade of low lending rates the mortgage market has been riddled by a series of problems, including widespread mortgage fraud and lender misrepresentations.

The problems started in subprime mortgages made to those with risky credit that would adjust upward after a short period, and then moved into the conventional lending markets. At least one million home owners have lost their homes as a result of the crisis and Housing Predictor has forecast that at least another 2-million will be foreclosed through 2009.

The crisis has begun to effect the overall national economy. Wall Street investors are nervous over economic uncertainty. While many companies, including credit card and auto lenders have seen delinquencies rise.

Housing Predictor is an independent research firm, which forecasts housing markets in all 50 U.S. states and keeps visitors to the web site up to date on real estate news. Visit http://www.housingpredictor.com