Hillsboro Office 217-532-2525 | Litchfield Office 217-324-4663

Central IL Homes for SaleCentral IL Homes for Sale

  • Home
  • Search
    • Advanced Search
    • Hot Property Alerts
    • Map Search
    • Upcoming Auctions
    • Address Search
    • Trending Searches
    • My Account
  • Featured
    • Our Featured Properties
    • Our Featured Auctions
    • Open Houses
    • Virtual Tours
    • Current Solds
    • Schools
  • Areas
    • Hillsboro
    • Litchfield
    • Coffeen
    • Witt
    • Nokomis
    • Taylor Springs
    • Irving
    • Panama
    • Donnellson
    • Raymond
    • See All
  • Buy
    • Mortgage Calculator
    • Home Buyer Checklist
    • Local Links
    • Resources
  • Sell
    • What’s Your Home Worth?
    • Selling your Home at Auction
    • Seller Tips and Tools
    • Marketing Your Home
  • Rent
    • View all Rentals
    • Landlord List
  • Auctions
    • Upcoming Auctions
    • Selling your Home at Auction
    • Find out More!
  • Appraisals
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Agents
    • Client Reviews
    • Blog

FOMC Minutes: Committee Discusses “Normalizing” Policy

FOMC Minutes: Committee Discusses “Normalizing” PolicyApril’s meeting of the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee was held along with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Meeting minutes released Wednesday indicated the committee’s interest in “normalizing” its monetary policy. This included the FOMC’s ongoing commitment to tapering its asset purchases under its quantitative easing program.

The committee agreed to taper the Fed’s monthly asset purchases by $10 billion to $45 billion per month. Committee members discussed raising the target federal funds rate, which now stands at 0.00 to 0.25 percent, but the minutes clearly stated that this topic was undertaken as part of “prudent planning, and did not indicate that normalization would necessarily begin sometime soon.”

The FOMC minutes reflected the committee’s concern with achieving a balance between normalizing the Fed’s monetary policy and keeping short-term interest rates under control.

Meeting attendees considered methods for managing interest rates and considered potential impact of each method discussed on overall financial stability.

Importance Of Early Communication

Meeting participants discussed the importance of early communication of pending changes to the Fed’s monetary policy, and agreed that advising the public “well before the first steps in normalizing policy become appropriate.”

Early communication to the public of planned changes was viewed as a means of providing clarity and credibility to FOMC policy decisions and help FOMC achieve its statutory goals of maximum employment, stable pricing and moderate long term interest rates.

Potential Impact Of Achieving Normalcy

 FOMC members discussed the possible impact of tools considered for use in normalizing the economy on the following:

  • Fed control over short-term interest rates
  • The Fed’s balance sheet and Treasury remittances
  • Functionality of Federal Funds Market
  • Financial stability in normal times and times of stress

The minutes noted that the Fed has never used any of the methods discussed while the Fed held a large balance sheet, and recommended that flexibility in using tools for achieving normal fiscal policy.

No decision was made about normalizing current monetary policy; FOMC and Fed Board members agreed that further study and analysis were needed before any decisions would be made.

Fed: Mortgage And Refinance Applications “Tepid”

The FOMC minutes characterized the level of mortgage and refinance applications through March as tepid, due to increasing mortgage rates and home prices.

While a survey of senior loan officers revealed that mortgage credit had been loosened for applicants with prime credit, mortgage credit remained tight for those with less than excellent credit.

The unemployment rate held steady at 6.70 percent and remained above the FOMC’s benchmark of 6.50 percent. There was some good news as the workforce expanded and the ranks of the long-term unemployed decreased.

Stable employment is important to potential home buyers; if unemployment levels continue to fall, numbers of home buyers are likely to increase.

Posted in: Uncategorized Tagged: Federal Reserve, FOMC, Mortgage And Refinance Applications

Search Smarter

Did you know the hottest homes for sale in Hillsboro often sell within days of being listed? Don’t miss out! Set up your own custom property alert so you can be notified of the newest homes as they hit the market! Simply click the button below and choose the qualities that you want most in a home and save your search to start getting alerts today!

New Property Alerts

As local Hillsboro Real Estate Agents we also have access to homes before they hit the market and can show you more homes and information that are only accessible in the MLS. If you would like to set up a time to go over your real estate needs, please free to contact us at your convenience. There is no obligation and or pressure… we hope to hear from you!

Post navigation

« What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – May 27, 2014
Here’s How You Can Leverage Your Home To Reduce Your Tax Burden For Next Year »

Contact Us Now



(217) 532-2525 Hillsboro Office
(217) 324-4663 Litchfield Office

info@mcrealty.net
Hillsboro Office

551 S. Main St.
Hillsboro, IL 62049

Litchfield Office

410 N Monroe St.,
Suite 100
Litchfield, IL 62056

Hillsboro Company License #478.025162
Litchfield Company License #477.012410

Follow Us Now!


Quick Search Tools

  • Easy Search
  • Advanced Search
  • Address Search
  • Upcoming Auctions
  • Home Valuation
  • Map Search
  • My Account
  • Listing ID Search
  • Contact

Chat with us Now!

Click here to visit our Facebook page to chat with us now!

© 2025 · MCR Realty Professionals, Inc. · 217-532-2525 Hillsboro Office · 217-324-4663 Litchfield Office · MCR Agent Office · Agent IDX Login · Sitemap · IDX Sitemap · IDX Sitemap · Privacy Policy · Terms of Service · Hillsboro IL Homes for Sale
Disclaimer - All Rights Reserved by MCR Realty Professionals, Inc.

AREAS WE COVER:

62049, 62089, 62056, 62017, 62075, 62094
Hillsboro, Litchfield, Coffeen, Nokomis, Witt

Log in · Real Estate Websites by Real Estate Websites by YourSiteNeedsMe.com