OREM, Utah — With the news that the Federal Reserve may soon be dropping interest rates, many are wondering what that means for Utahns living in an apartment or wanting to buy a home.
"Everything is skyrocketing. I work as many hours as I can just to be able to afford to put food on the table every single day," said Orem resident Erica Hardman.
Hardman and her husband have been living at Village Park Apartments for four years. Their dream has always been to buy a home, but it's just not in the equation these days.
"What we're up against is, it's not affordable to get a house right now, no matter where you are, what hours you work, or if you're married, single, have kids, no kids," she explained. "The housing market is insane right now."
Terry Bailey with Selling Utah Real Estate understands people’s frustration and believes the savings that would come with a decrease in the interest rate will have little to do with whether anyone can afford to pay a monthly mortgage.
"$100 maybe $200 a month is for most people, isn't going to be the difference between them being able to get into a home and not get into a home," explained Bailey of the savings a lower interest rate would bring.
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However, Bailey added that any good news involving interest rates is still good for the housing market.
"The truth is, most people make decisions off of emotion," he said. "And if you have a sentiment change, where people are saying, 'Hey, the market's strong now, the interest rates are lower,' and you have a sentiment that's changing, that people get excited into the market, and then that tends to spur up the market."
Still, Hardman doesn’t see herself and her husband getting into a home anytime soon.
"I've kind of lost hope," she admitted. "But I'm still trying to hang on to hope. I hope there's a light at the end of the tunnel."
