What's Next for Interest Rates?

Freddie Mac has placed its bet on where interest rates are going, and it's higher.

The average 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage rate will be 6 percent by the fourth quarter of this year, according to Freddie's recently released "January 2010 Economic and Housing Market Outlook."

The average rate was 4.96 percent for the week ending January 14, according to the latest Freddie Mac mortgage survey. But it may be one of the last weeks for rates under 5 percent. Freddie predicts steady increases over the next year as rates rise from their record low of 4.71 percent this December.