Mortgage Rates, Interest Rates

December 18, 2015

Friday – December 18

Freddie Mac reports that even in the midst of the Federal Reserve raising the benchmark short-term Fed Funds Rate, mortgage rates may see modest increases, but will stay at historic lows in 2016. Freddie went on to say that home sales will remain strong next year, while refinance activity should somewhat cool. Analysts at sister company Fannie Mae said the current fixed of 3.97% will rise only to 4.1% next year this time.

With millions of young Americans entering the workforce or already working, many are straddled with student loans to pay off. With the Federal Reserve raising short-term interest rates earlier this week, the question many are asking is that will their interest rates go up for their existing loans? The answer is no. Those already with loans will not see the rate go up, for they are fixed rates over the life of the loan. It is possible that borrowers taking out new student loans next year may feel a rate increase. The bulk of student loans are issued by the federal government, so as mentioned, those rates will not increase. However, those with private student loans often carry a variable rate and could edge higher.