Bessent Suggests US Already in Housing Recession, Calls for Lower Interest Rates

‘If the Fed brings down mortgage rates, then they can end this housing recession,’ the US Treasury secretary said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks with reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington on Oct. 22, 2025. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. housing market and other parts of the economy may already be in a recession due to high interest rates, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday, reiterating that the Federal Reserve should initiate more rate cuts.

“I think that we are in good shape, but I think that there are sectors of the economy that are in recession,” Bessent told CNN’s “State of the Union” program on Sunday, characterizing the overall economic environment as in a transition period.