Long Islanders and businesses borrowing money will benefit from the Federal Reserve’s decision this week to lower its benchmark interest rate, economic experts said.

But they said the Fed’s cut will deliver limited relief to Long Island homebuyers seeking out mortgages.

The Fed lowered the key rate by a quarter point on Wednesday to between 4% and 4.25%.

That decision will help borrowers taking on short-term loans, but the Fed has less influence over long-term debt, such as 30-year mortgages, said Stephen Kates, a financial analyst at Bankrate. A new report Thursday from Mortgage News Daily also showed mortgage rates may not continue their decline that started earlier this summer. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate hasn't dipped below 6% since September 2022.

Newsday spoke with

See Full Page