Are people paying too much attention to central bank decisions?
The ongoing saga of the Federal Reserve and its Chair Jerome Powell, and its seemingly never-ending battle with the Trump administration, seems unlikely to go away anytime soon. One mortgage broker believes the discourse is actively keeping buyers on the sidelines.
Grant Hall (pictured top), senior loan pro and team lead at Rosegate Mortgage, said the first thing he reminds potential clients is that the last Federal Reserve rate cut didn’t lead to lower interest rates.
“It's crazy how news headlines work,” Hall told Mortgage Professional America. “Everybody points to the Federal Reserve dropping interest rates like that correlates, hand in hand, directly with our mortgage rates. We saw that back in September of 2024, when they had that 50-basis-point rate cut.
“The most remarkable thing ever is that mortgage rates actually hit a pause and went up right after that. And everybody was like, ‘Wait, I thought rates were coming down.’”
The Federal Reserve is set to meet again at the end of July. All signs point to another rate hold, with current forecasts indicating that a potential rate cut will be held off until September.
Staying on the sidelines
Hall noted that buyers and sellers have been inundated with headlines and social media posts about rates every day, with the Trump administration calling for rate cuts or for Powell to resign.
“I think what's made this extremely interesting is that we're into a new presidential administration,” Hall said. “This particular administration, almost every single day, is taking shots or mentioning news about the Fed and putting that pressure on, that he believes that the Fed needs to cut rates. So, I think that with that messaging being cycled through all social media outlets every day, Americans don't know how it correlates with mortgage rates.”
Because many buyers and sellers see the relentless pressure being put on the Federal Reserve to cut rates, Hall believes there is a sector of potential customers who are convinced that an aggressive rate cut is coming. Therefore, those customers are willing to wait until it happens before taking action.
“I think that sentiment is putting a lot of people on the sidelines and saying, ‘Well, if [Trump is] pressuring [Powell] that aggressively every day and [Trump] believes that rates are going to cut,’ I think that people are just sitting on the sidelines and waiting for that rate cut to happen,” he said. “Even if it doesn't correlate directly with lower mortgage rates.
“I think that's just one of the biggest hot-button headline topics right now. I think that people think, ‘Oh well, they haven't cut rates yet. Rates are high. I'm going to wait till this big cut happens that I keep hearing about.’”
What's best for the borrower
While there is no question that a decrease in mortgage rates would heat up the housing market, Hall reminds borrowers that there are opportunities to be had when rates remain higher.
“When rates are high, you can get your home at a better purchase price and a discount,” he said. “Specifically in Charlotte, we've seen a big shift over the last six months where we're noticing houses staying active on the market longer. People are getting houses for discounts, and we're seeing price cuts.”
Buyers who qualify for a home have an opportunity to secure deals in some markets where there are more homes on the market than buyers. However, Hall knows that all it will take is a slight rate decrease to flood the market with buyers once again.
Amid elevated interest rates, Ginger Bell, Growth Officer at NAMB, advises mortgage brokers to focus on homeownership value, not just rates. She believes emphasizing the power of homeownership in local communities will lead to greater success.https://t.co/QTZUqJbG3j
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) July 2, 2025
“Then there's so much pent-up demand for people that are just kind of sitting and waiting for this big rate cut,” Hall said. “I think that it's just almost like a mental thing for a lot of people out there, that once they get that win, that they can see that rates are cutting, I think it's really going to open up the floodgates. People are just sitting at the top of the dam right now.”
However, in the meantime, Hall works with his clients to ensure they’re not missing opportunities in the current market while waiting for a rate decrease that may still be months away.
“In reality, if you look at the economy, these rates might stay higher for longer, and that's not necessarily a bad thing for a home buyer or consumer,” he said. “It's really situational and hyperlocal to your market, and what could make sense for your family. I think you can never time it perfectly, and a lot of people are trying to play that timing game right now, and it's just never going to work in this real estate market.”
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