Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is known for providing clear signals about the central bank’s next interest rate move in order to avoid roiling markets. But Wall Street was mostly clueless this week when it came to predicting how big a rate cut the Fed would deliver on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve began what will likely be a campaign of interest rate cuts Wednesday by cutting its influential federal funds rate by half a percentage point. The central bank has made similar moves in the past.

There are some compelling reasons why homebuyers may want to act now that the Fed has cut rates. Here's what to know.