There’s been speculation about whether that has meant the Fed’s goal was to temper buyer demand to give a boost to inventory or if the Fed actually wants home price declines, Fortune reported Thursday, but in the minds of some housing analysts, Powell’s language this week strengthens the interpretation that the Fed’s intent is to bring home prices down.

The big picture: The COVID-19 pandemic sent the nation into a housing frenzy, shooting home prices to never-before-seen levels as mortgage rates lingered at times below 3%, fueling demand for not only sales, but refinancing.

Local housing markets including Boise, Idaho, and yes, Salt Lake City, which were among the cities to see home prices skyrocket amid the pandemic frenzy, are also now some of the first to see prices dip as the frenzy fizzles.

On Thursday, the Salt Lake Board of Realtors took a closer look at just how much of an impact soaring mortgage rates have had on home sales and home prices in Salt Lake County.

Home prices in Salt Lake County: The single-family median home price in August was $601,000.

Single-family home prices in Salt Lake County increased a staggering 63% since the start of the pandemic, from March 2020 to May of 2022.

Chilling effect: “The Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes seem to be having little effect on inflation, but a chilling effect on the housing market,” said Steve Perry, president of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, in a prepared statement “We are selling about 400 fewer homes a month than the 10-year average.”.

In August, the median number of days a home was on the market in Salt Lake County was 22 days, according to the board