Inventory, not interest rates, the concern for Southern Oregon home ownership

Medford, Ore — Citing economic growth and strong jobs numbers, the Federal Reserve announces national interest rates are going up.

“The federal open market committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by one quarter percentage point bringing it from .75% to 1%,” said Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen at a press briefing Wednesday.

This is just the third time interest rates have risen since the financial crisis in 2008. The second time since December.

For a $200,000, 30-year mortgage, this would mean a $29 per month increase, or $348 per year.

Locally, mortgage experts say homeowners won’t see much of a change in their loans but the bump is a sign of a stronger economy.

“It was just unprecedentedly low and it needed to make a correction upwards, and that’s what we’ve seen gently over the last few months,” said Mike Newmann with the Newmann Group at Evergreen Home Loans

Newmann says the real concern locally is a lack of inventory in the housing market, but more homeowners are putting their properties up for sale.