Will Interest Rates Go Up?

Florida Real Estate Podcast with Jason Shinpaugh

The Federal Reserve will meet this December, and it seems very likely that they will increase interest rates. What does this mean for you as a home buyer or seller?

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I have been getting a lot of questions regarding the federal interest rate, so I wanted to take some time to talk about it today.
Back in September, the Federal Reserve planned to raise interest rates but ultimately decided to leave them where they were. The Federal Reserve is going to meet again this December, and it seems pretty likely that this time, interest rates will go up.
Don’t worry about a federal interest rate increase too much, though. Most of the time when the Federal Reserve raises their rates, mortgage companies will lower their own interest rates. This might go against everything you would expect, but a lot of times these kind of decisions don’t make sense to us as everyday consumers.

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Even if interest rates go up a quarter of a percent, they will still be incredibly low!

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Secondly, even if interest rates go up by a quarter of a percent, they will still be at historic lows. I remember that during the boom of 2006, interest rates were hovering around the low fives, and everyone said, “These are the best interest rates we’ve ever seen!” There has been a slight increase in rates after the election already, but you can still get a 4.5% rate for a conventional mortgage, which is fantastic. Very little will happen to those rates if the Federal Reserve decides to make an increase.
Besides that, the Federal Reserve is mainly concerned with the shortage of new housing on the market, so they aren’t going to meddle with interest rates too much.
The bottom line is that now is a great time to sell your home. If you’re buying in this market, you do have to be on your toes, but you can still find some great deals out there.
If you have any other questions about interest rates or our current real estate market, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!