Saint Mary’s County commissioner recounts Fed visit, warns high rates are slowing housing market and labor recruitment

Commissioner (unnamed) said a vice president from the Richmond Federal Reserve, Andrew Bauer, visited Saint Mary’s County to hear from nonprofit groups and the Chamber of Commerce about local economic concerns, including housing affordability and labor shortages. “Rising tide floats all boats,” the commissioner said, arguing that lower interest rates would spur economic development and raise county revenues.

The commissioner described the Federal Reserve official as “a vice president from the Richmond Federal Reserve, a mister Andrew Bauer, goes by Andy” and said the official had met first with nonprofits and then with a chamber group. The commissioner said he told Bauer that lower interest rates would help people buy homes and vehicles and thus increase local economic activity.

The speaker said housing affordability is “everywhere” and described a contrast between the low mortgage-rate period, when rates were “2%, 3%,” and the current environment of “6 and 7 percent,” which the commissioner said has put home purchases out of reach for some buyers. The commissioner also relayed a second theme from the meeting: labor uncertainty. “Vacancies are going unfilled,” the commissioner said, and employers are offering higher pay, bonuses and benefits to attract workers.

The commissioner said he hopes the Richmond Fed official will return to listen again and described the meeting as a “good give and take.” No formal action or policy change resulted from the discussion at the county meeting.

The remarks were part of a broader set of comments the commissioner made to the county; he also addressed tax, development and environmental topics elsewhere in his remarks.