After 30 years in which the cost of borrowing money always seemed to go down, the NY Times says American consumers are suddenly going to have to deal with a "sustained period of rising interest rates."
These rising rates are likely to quickly affect the housing market, just as things looked like they were starting to turn around. Higher rates could reverse that trend seeing as though the total cost of a home can rise by as much as 19 percent when interest rates increase one percentage point.
Meanwhile, consumers have already been seeing their credit card rates go up, and they're likely to continue going that route, as will car loans.
The expected increase is due to several reasons, including:
--Rising government debt
--Incentive programs used to keep interest rates low during the financial crisis are coming to an end
--Fear that a recovering economy could bring back inflation
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