As the coronavirus was sparking growing fears across the country, the Federal Reserve opted to cut the rate by half a percentage point for Buy a Home. This came on March 3.

It was the first time that the Fed had cut the rate by that much since the meltdown of 2008. In a statement issued by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell at the time, he explained, “The fundamentals of the U.S. economy remain strong…however, the spread of the coronavirus has brought new challenges and risks.”