The Fed Just Reversed Course: Rates Rise to 3.75%-4.00%, and Latino Homebuyers Feel It First

US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh speaks during a news conference at the William McChesney Martin Jr. Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, DC, on September 16, 2026. The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates in the world's largest economy by 25 basis points to tackle stubbornly high inflation, a move sure to anger President Donald Trump, who has demanded lower rates. (Credit: Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

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  The Fed's rate-setting committee lifted its benchmark by a quarter point to 3.75%-4.00% on September 16, its first upward move in three years, with all twelve voting members in agreement.

• Officials now expect the rate to land near 4.1% once 2026 wraps up, up from a June forecast of 3.8%, with sixteen of eighteen policymakers penciling in at least one more increase this year.
• Hispanic households added a record 441,000 new homeowners in 2025 and reached 10.2 million total, according to NAHREP — just as borrowing costs climb again.

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Fed policymakers unanimously approved a quarter-point increase Wednesday, pushing the federal funds target range up to 3.75%-4.00% — the panel's first upward move in three years. The shift lands squarely on Hispanic households, which drove nearly all of the country's homeownership growth last year even as they carry an outsized share of variable-rate car and credit card debt.