The sluggish housing market is preventing a more robust economic recovery in the U.S., making low interest rates a necessity, the nation's top central banker said Friday in Orlando.
"Recent declines in housing wealth may be reducing consumer spending between $200 billion and $375 billion per year. That reduction corresponds to lower living standards for many Americans," Bernanke said during a speech to the National Association of Home Builders.
Falling home values may be having a societal impact as well. "Homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages cannot tap home equity to pay for emergency health expenses or their children's college educations," he said.
Yesterday, the federal government and attorneys general from forty-nine states Thursday reached a landmark $25 billion settlement with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Economic News
What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.