Fed Chief - Cooling Housing Market

Housing Cool-Down Is 'Orderly,' Fed Chief Says: "Housing Cool-Down Is 'Orderly,' Fed Chief SaysBy Tomoeh Murakami TseWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, May 19, 2006; Page D01Confirming what home buyers suspected and real estate sales figures have indicated for months, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said yesterday that the U.S. housing market was showing clear signs of cooling off.

Bernanke said the slowdown is 'moderate' and 'orderly' and pointed to the overall strength of the economy

Economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic Policy and Research expressed concern that rising interest rates were squeezing homeowners who took out interest-only and adjustable-rate mortgages. Even when interest rates were at historically low levels, Baker said, stretched buyers were taking out exotic loans to get into pricey homes.

Baker said a rising inventory of homes in the Washington region could fuel a double-digit price decline if interest rates climb higher. Condo prices could fall by as much as 30 percent, and prices of single-family homes could drop by as much as 15 percent, he said.
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