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The MReport Webcast: Thursday 2/11/2016

While testifying before Congress on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen noted that persistent economic headwinds have kept the federal funds target rate at a historically low level—and that future rate hikes may occur even more gradually than originally anticipated.

One Federal Open Market Committee meeting has already come and gone since December’s historic Fed liftoff without another rate hike. In her testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday when discussing monetary policy, Yellen pointed out factors that have weighed on aggregate demand, such as limited access to credit for some borrowers, weak growth abroad, and the dollar’s significant appreciation. Inflation also remains way below the Fed’s 2 percent objective.

History has shown that homeowners typically value their homes at a higher price point than appraisers, but as the housing market evolves, these opinions are inching closer to reaching a point of equilibrium.

Quicken Loans' Home Price Perception Index found that homeowners valued their homes 1 point 75 percent more than appraisers in January 2016, marking a full year that this trend had continued. Last month, the gap between home values and appraisers was 1 point 80 percent.

About Author: Seth Welborn

Seth Welborn is a Harding University graduate with a degree in English and a minor in writing. He is a contributing writer for MReport. An East Texas Native, he has studied abroad in Athens, Greece and works part-time as a photographer.
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