In this podcast recorded on December 15, the day after the Fed’s final meeting of the year, Shimon Shkury, President and Founder of Ariel Property Advisors, and Eli Weisblum, Senior Director of Capital Services, discuss the Fed’s latest rate hike and what it means for borrowers.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) unanimously approved a .50% rate hike at its eighth meeting of the year, bringing the federal funds target range to 4.25% to 4.5%. The latest increase, while still historically large, is more modest than .75% increases over the last four meetings. Although the 12-month change in CPI was 7.7% in October and 7.1% in November, lower than the peak of 9.1% in June, the Fed pledged to continue its restrictive monetary policy in 2023 because inflation remains far above the central bank’s long run goal of 2%.