The Lowry Letter® - 9/20/2025

Fall is a great time to enjoy cooler temperatures AND prepare for end-of-year financial planning to-do’s. We will be discussing some of those in coming Lowry Letters.

Onto this week:

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• In general, people are too noncommittal. At least, that is what this research says, especially regarding social invitations. A “no” is often preferable to a “maybe,” even if you are concerned about someone else’s feelings.

• The Greatest Night in Pop is a documentary about the making of We Are The World. Seems like an interesting watch.

• In a surprising trend, Baby Boomers bought more homes than Millennials last year. High mortgage rates and debt burdens limited millennial home purchases, while baby boomers bought properties in cash, reflecting generational shifts in the housing market.

• We liked this look at the geographic exceptionalism of the United States of America.

• According to this research, the fastest growth in Artificial Intelligence use is for personal tasks, outpacing work use handily.

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Q: Rates dropped, what next?

A: Not much right now. The markets expected the move, and it can be supported by weakening employment numbers and relatively stable inflation. The Fed indicated willingness to lower rates further before the end of the year.

The impact on long-term rates is less clear. We think a clear trend will have to emerge for mortgages and other long-term rates to move in a meaningful way, though rates have fallen recently. Most experts expect them to remain in the 6% range for the foreseeable future.