Rate impact.

The Federal Reserve Board's much-anticipated decision to raise interest rates generated the predictable anticipation of how it would affect the real estate market.

A profit warning from mortgage lender Washington Mutual Inc.--one day before the Fed's quarter-point rate hike--had already rattled markets, causing mortgage stocks to tumble.

Countrywide Financial Corp. in Calabasas was quick to respond with news that it had already factored rising interest rates into its past guidance. While its stock was down $1.82, to $69.68 on June 29, it had rebounded by July 1 to $70.25.

Even WaMu saw some recovery. After falling by $4.51 on June 29, to a low of $36.80 in intraday trading, its stock staged a partial rebound to $38.13 by the July 1 close.

"I don't think it's particularly surprising at the beginning of a rate cycle to have negative reaction," said Matthew Park, senior analyst at A.G. Edwards & Sons in New York.

He said he expects Countrywide, which became a mortgage powerhouse in the refinance boom of the past three years, to continue gaining market share.

Homebuilder stocks also fell last week. KB Home in Los Angeles saw its stock drop 1.2 percent on July 1 to close at $67.80, despite issuing $350 million of 6.375 percent senior notes just days before the rate hike to repay bank debt.

"I would expect, as interest rates rise, that we would see a slowdown in home sales," said Craig Kucera, senior analyst at Friedman Billings Ramsey in Arlington, Va. "There's going to be a certain segment of the market that could be pushed out of the market as rates rise. I don't think a 25 basis point increase will have a real substantial impact, however."

Debt research firm Fitch Ratings said on June 30 that it saw no short-term impact due to the rate increase in several real-estate sectors, including homebuilders, commercial mortgage-backed securities and real estate investment trusts.