WALT STRAUB (ROSSMOOR REALTY) Agent Walnut Creek, CA Contact Me

A.

Your question is a tough one.Even the experts and economists can't agree on that one.Personally I beleive they will.

Carla Muss-Jacobs - Principal Broker/ Owner | Exclusive Buyers Agent | (503-810-7192 | BuyersAgentPortland.com) Broker Owner Portland, OR Contact Me

A.

I'm gazing into my crystal ball and . . . yawn.  Sorry, it's just such a boring question and who knows?  My prediction is:  let's all just wait and see, shall we.  Interest rates are historically LOW so it doesn't take the GREAT SEER to gaze into the future and realize that, YEAH, interest rates will go up.  When? Hard to say.  But yes, sometime "after" the November elections, I'll say "SURE, why not."  It might be 10 months "after," might be a year . . . but go up they will.  WHY?  Because they are already historically LOW, so the common sense reasoning would stand to reason that interest rates WILL go up, after the November elections, after July 4th, after Ground Hog Day. 

Yolanda Hoversten | Broker | O'Fallon, Illinois Real Estate (Prudential One Realty Centre) Agent O Fallon, IL Contact Me

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I have a very experienced lender/mortgage friend who has said to me that he's given up on predicting that rates will go down any further. When the rate came down to 6%, he said it can't get any lower, but it did... and kept on going down, 3.75% later.

Not to be flippant, but it's anybody's guess at this point. Anybody who can predict this will surely take advantage.

Steven Cook (MLO #293441) Pierce, Kitsap, Thurston, King Counties, Steven T Cook (Cascade Pacific Home Loans - Federal Way, WA) Mortgage Tacoma, WA Contact Me

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As pointed out by others - likely to go up after the elections (no matter who is elected) due to how low the current rates are.  They could even go up before the elections, and then more afterward.

Susan Neal, Fair Oaks CA and Sacramento County Real Estate Broker, CA DRE#686562 (Century 21 Noel David Realty) Agent Fair Oaks, CA Contact Me

A.

I don't think the elections have much to do with interest rates, but rates are historically low right now, and they are bound to go up a little bit eventually.

Lloyd Binen Silicon Valley R since 1976;408-565-8177 (Certified Realty Services) Agent Saratoga, CA Contact Me

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Please read my ActiveRain post about predicting interest rates:

http://actvra.in/C29

Jack Snyder, Loan Officer, San Clemente, Orange County, California, 949-204-8584 (Top Rated Loan Officer in Orange County for Omni-Fund Inc.) Mortgage San Clemente, CA Contact Me

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Interest rates are being held down by the current administration in an attempt to get something, anything, rolling in this economy right now.

They will go up, how soon depends on how soon our economy recovers and how the next administration feels. Once recovered or unfetered, the rates will then start to ride the natural ebb and flow of the market.

Who knows when that will happen, the rates are as low as they get, property values are as low as they get and there's a lot of cash investors buying up the inventory.

Jennifer Okhovat (CA Realty Group LA ) Agent West Hollywood, CA Contact Me

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That question can be tricky as I never thought that I would see them as low as I do now. 

I've been using www.bankrate.com to stay informed with the latest on mortgage rates. 

John Souerbry - Luxury Homes, Land, Investments (John A. Souerbry & Associates - Bay Area Real Estate) Broker Owner Palo Alto, CA Contact Me

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Let's hope they go up!  I predict they will and here's why that's a good thing.

Higher interest rates are a sign of a healthy economy.  Capital (money) is in demand when businesses want to grow and add staff.  Businesses only do that when they know they can sell whatever goods or services they provide.

Inversely, low interest rates are a sign of a sick economy, in which businesses do not feel comfortable expanding or adding staff.

In terms of interest rates for mortgages, going up a little is absolutely a good thing.  Although some will say that higher rates will knock some buyers out of the market, it actually opens the door for many, many more buyers to come in.  Here's how:  higher interest rates means more money available for mortgages.  When interest rates are low, private money invests in anything else that provides a good rate of return.  At 3% to 4%, private money goes elsewhere.  When rates are 5% to 6%, private investors will invest in mortgages.  As the pool of money increases, qualifying will loosen up from tight to reasonable.  This will create three to four times as many qualified buyers as low interest rates could create.