Ever since inflation hit a 40-year high in June 2022, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been on a campaign to hike interest rates at the most aggressive pace in its history to help get inflation back toward a more normal level. Naturally, this had an impact on consumer spending, business investment, and, of course, the real estate market.

A recent report by Redfin suggests the average homebuyer with a $3,000 monthly budget has lost a whopping $40,000 worth of purchasing power over the last year. Those rising interest rates also pressured U.S. existing home sales data, which came in at a six-month low of 4.04 million (on an annualized basis) in August. The 25-year mean is closer to 5.3 million. That has caused a slowdown at Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z) (NASDAQ: ZG), a real estate technology company providing seller services, mortgages, and software products to agents.

But some economists believe the Fed has finished raising interest rates, and it might even begin cutting them in the middle of next year. If that's the case, could now be the time to load up on Zillow stock? Let's find out.

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Source Fool.com