Overheating in real estate market a concern, Fed´s Lockhart said

Dennis Lockhart, the president of the Federal Reserve bank of Atlanta, expressed concern on Thursday evening about the risk that the real estate market might overheat.

“For the first time in more than a decade, bankers face the potential of operating in a rising rate environment. Rising rates will create challenges in managing net interest margins and risks,” Dennis Lockhart said in remarks at a banking conference in Atlanta, Bloomberg reported.

“We remain concerned about the potential for the commercial real estate market to overheat and hurt banks again.”

Lower energy prices and worries about China "have added new complexity" to the task of assessing the outlook for the US economy, he said.

He added that the Federal Reserve would be 'data dependent' in its decisions.