What the Future Holds for Interest Rates

Mansfield Arlington Real Estate Podcast with John Teixeira

Recent speculation about potential increases in interest rates has many people nervous. Here’s what I think will happen with rates in the near future.

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Are Fed rates going up?

Over the past few months, we've been hearing about a possible rate increase from the Federal Reserve. First, experts were predicting that the Fed would raise interest rates in September.

That didn't happen. Now we're being told rates will go up in mid-December... we just don't know by how much.

All this uncertainty is making people very uncomfortable.

Because of the uncertainty, news outlets are parsing every word Fed members are saying, and everyone is wondering: Will there be a rate increase? Will mortgage rates increase as well? What will happen to the real estate market?

My personal opinion is this: the moves by the Fed are nothing to worry about. I think it’s simply another case of people getting nervous while waiting for the test results.

The real estate market looks great right now.

In fact, I believe that an increase in the Fed Rate will have minimal impact on the real estate market in Mansfield for three reasons.

First, mortgage rates often move independently of the Fed Rate. An increase in the Fed rate might actually lead to a decrease in mortgage rates — this is exactly what happened the last time the Fed increased rates, back in December of 2015.

Second, the likely rate increase will be small, probably 0.25%. If mortgage rates were to increase by the same amount, they would still be at historically low levels.

Third, we know the members of the Fed are concerned with the shortage of new housing right now — it’s right there in their September meeting notes. Because of this, any actions they take will keep the real estate market in mind.

In short: the real estate market is doing great right now—and it's likely to stay that way, with or without a Fed Rate increase.

Right now, if you're selling, you can benefit from stable prices and strong demand:

Check out how much your home is worth based on current Mansfield prices.

And if you're buying, you can benefit from historically low mortgage rates so you can afford a great home in Mansfield:

See available Mansfield homes that are for sale right now.

Either way, if you have questions, or you just want to talk about what the Fed might do next, give me a call. I’m here to help.