A warning that higher interest rates would hurt an already shaky economy instead of helping it — bad news for borrowers and for growth.

• Raising rates would not pull mortgage rates down, because home loan rates track long-term government bond yields, not the Fed's short-term rate.
• The economy is already struggling, so tighter policy risks stalling it outright.
• Homebuyers would get no relief on mortgage costs while everything else gets more expensive to borrow.
• The concern is framed reluctantly — a call nobody wants to be right about.

Outlook: If rates go up from here, expect slower growth with little improvement in housing affordability.