At the most recent MarketWatch Atlanta in December 2018, John Hunt of MarketNsight and Dr. Rajeev Dhawan of the Georgia State University Economic Forecasting Center both shared insightful information regarding the state of the Atlanta new home industry – including the prediction that the Federal Reserve would not hike rates in 2019!
Dr. Dhawan went against all conventional thinking to say the Federal Reserve would back off rate hikes in 2019 and begin cutting in 2020.
“I would tell you there would be zero rate hikes in 2019, but you would not believe me!” Dr. Dhawan said.
Just three months after the central bank said two hikes would be appropriate in 2019, the Federal Reserve indicated that no more rate hikes will be coming this year – something Dr. Dhawan had already predicted!
As expected, and predicted at MarketWatch Atlanta, the 2019 benchmark funds rate will stay between 2.25 and 2.5 percent. The benchmark rate will approach 2.6 percent in 2020 and remain at that level through 2021, increasing to 2.8 percent in the longer run.
The central bank also says it will complete its balance sheet roll-off program at the end of September, according to a recent CNBC article.
The Federal Reserve also reduced expectations in GDP growth and inflation and a bump higher in the unemployment rate outlook.
Federal Reserve policymakers submit their projections quarterly for where they expect short-term interest rates to go. Those submissions are then consolidated into a “dot plot,” showing how many members think rates will hit a given level over the short, medium and longer run. Click here to see the Federal Reserve’s latest targets.
Also at MarketWatch Atlanta, John discussed the desperate need for “missing middle” housing to help get Millennials (18 to 34-year-olds) back in the market. In the “old normal,” this age group made up 60 percent of all new home sales – and now? They are only about 10 percent of all new home sales.
Over the last several years, MarketNsight has predicted housing starts both regionally and nationally within 1 percent of the actual. Do not miss the next biannual MarketWatch Atlanta event, coming up in June! Visit www.MarketNsight.com to learn or email info@MarketNsight.com to secure an invitation.