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b'Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell announced the outcome of two days of meetings of the Federal Reserve. The Fed is a board of the heads of each of the regional Federal reserve banks and their board of Governors. The focus is often on the Chair of the Federal Reserve. But the board is really made up of a committee who vote on the policy.\\xa0\\nInterest-rate projections released Wednesday showed eight of 17 officials\\u2014the reserve bank presidents and board governors who participate in the Fed meetings\\u2014expect they will cut the benchmark rate by year\\u2019s end from its current level in a range between 2.25% and 2.5%. Seven of those officials see lowering the rate by a half percentage point by the close of 2019, and one expects just a quarter-percentage-point reduction. Eight officials projected the Fed would hold rates steady, and one projected a rate increase.\\nThe Fed this week announced that they were holding interest rates steady at this meeting, but signalled strongly that we can expect a rate cut at the July meeting, about 6 weeks from now. The guidance is for a half point reduction between now and the end of the year, based on economic indicators. The fed is seeing a slowdown in economic activity, party due to global economic slowdown, and some linked to the current trade discussions between the US and China.\\xa0\\nThe central bank\\u2019s rate-setting committee on Wednesday dropped language from its policy statement describing its stance as \\u201cpatient\\u201d\\u2014which implied rates were on hold. Instead, it said uncertainties about the economic outlook have increased, a phrase it has used during past periods of rate cuts.\\n\\u201cThe committee will closely monitor the implications of incoming information for the economic outlook and will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion,\\u201d the statement said. That\\u2019s code for they plan to reduce rates on signs of economic weakness.\\xa0\\nSo this is a strange situation where no change in interest rates is actually news worthy. In response to the announcement, the stock market seems to have responded positively. But the real news is that low interest rates mean that the government\\u2019s out of control spending is going to continue to enjoy low interest rates making their over-spending less unaffordable. I\\u2019m deliberately using a double negative here because the spending isn\\u2019t affordable at all, it\\u2019s less unaffordable with lower interest rates.\\xa0\\nFor us as real estate investors, short term loans are typically linked to short term rates like LIBOR, and permanent financing is typically linked to the yield on the 10 year treasury. That\\u2019s why Wednesday\\u2019s news is actually news for real estate investors. Yields on the 10 year treasury fell to the lowest level since November 2016. The rate now stands at 1.98%. That means that the rate for most HUD and agency loans will be solidly below 4% for the first time in a couple of years. Now is the time to position your portfolios to take advantage of the lower interest rates. If you start the process in June, by the time you exit the underwriting process in July, you will likely see an even lower rate locking into your permanent financing.\\xa0\\nThese financings take considerable time. The lender has to underwrite the deal, the market conditions, and the borrower. The commercial appraisal won\\u2019t be ordered immediately. That\\u2019s typically one of the last steps in the underwriting process and typically takes several weeks to complete.\\xa0\\nSo if you want to take advantage of lower interest rates that are here now, and in our near future, now is the time to start the process to rate lock for the long term.'