HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The pandemic has a ripple effect on nearly everything, from inflation to the supply chain.
Now we’re talking about a hike in interest rates.
Dr. Qian Shen, the MBA Program Director at Alabama A&M University’s School of Business and Public Affairs, said we’re expecting interest rates to go up at least three times this year.
“The first interest hike, they’re expecting to be happening in March. So most experts are saying anybody who wants to get a car loan or secure a mortgage, they need to do it now,” said Shen.
Shen says the interest rates will be gradual.
“So, they are not going to issue those out overnight. It’s not happening at once. So it’s still going to be room. Another point now, interest rates now are actually literally zero.”
Some other good news, the interest rates will not be as high as four decades ago.
“So once they have the interest rate hike, it’s not going to be high, compared to what happened in the eighties, the mortgage rate was easily 17 or 18 percent.”
However, watch out for payments if you’re a certain lender.
“Now with the student loans and the car loans, consumers will probably will see monthly payments just a little bit higher.”
Shen suggests if you secure your loans now, you shouldn’t have any problems.
Some tips for you:
“Keep in mind to just always do the fixed-rate loans, and not the adjusted because in the near future the adjusted is going to have a higher interest rate,” said Shen.