What's in Store for Interest Rates

If you think the tiny bump up in interest rates over the last week was bad, wait till you see rates a year from now.

No one can predict the future, of course, but there's good reason to think that average interest rates for 30-year home loans will be well above 5 percent or even 6 percent by the end of 2010.

The average interest rate for a 30-year home fixed-rate mortgage climbed to 4.94 percent, according to the Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, released December 17. That's up from a historic low of 4.71 percent two weeks ago.

Average interest rates are under five percent for a number of reasons that can't last.