LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Southern Nevadans reacted to the Federal Reserve’s Wednesday announcement of the first interest rate cut in four years.

The drop of half a percentage point will bring the key rate to 4.75%-5.00%, which will in turn influence credit cards, mortgage rates, and loans.

Austin Erickson spoke with 8 News Now about the issues unusually high prices have brought over the past few years.

“It affects everybody,” he said. “In a really terrible way.”

He said inflation, which rose to 8% in 2022, followed by rising interest rates over the past few years, has caused many struggles.

However, he believes Wednesday’s big news could signal future change locally and nationwide.

“The Federal Market Committee decided to reduce the degree of policy restraint,” U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during a news conference Wednesday. “By a half a percentage point.”

During that same news conference, Powell said the bold move shows confidence that inflation is close to a healthy target of 2%.

As of Sept. 11, the current U.S. inflation rate was listed at 2.5%, the lowest since February 2021.

“The U.S. Economy is in good shape,” Powell said. “It’s growing at a solid pace, inflation is coming down, the labor market is in a strong place and we want to keep it there.”

UNLV Professor of Economics Stephen Miller told 8 News Now these changes could spell good news for anyone paying down a credit card or looking to take out a new loan.

However, he said housing in Southern Nevada might not see much of a change yet, since prices are still too high for some and others locked in ultra-low mortgage rates during the pandemic.

According to Rocket Homes, the median house price in Las Vegas was $425,000 in August, which is a 6.3% increase from last year.

Mortgage rates currently sit just above 6%, which is significantly lower than this time last year. However, experts said applications for home purchases have not seen a significant surge.

“We still have a lot of people who are locked into their mortgages,” Miller said. “They have rates below 4% and if they want to move, they will have to give that up and go for higher rates.”

Regardless, Erickson told 8 News Now he hopes this will bring some relief to many who are still struggling to pay the bills.

“I think that’s what they were trying to do in the first place,” Erickson concluded, speaking about the Federal Reserve. “Just help people.”

Powell said during Wednesday’s news conference that this cut does not signal a future trend, stating the Federal Reserve will assess the economic climate differently at each meeting.