All mortgage rates follow one financial index or another to set their pricing. Fixed rate mortgages mirror the US 10-Year Treasury Bond or T-Bill. You can see graphs of this index's activity on financial websites by searching the symbol $tnx. Increases in the interest yield will mean higher fixed mortgage rates and decreases indicate lower fixed rates.

Variable rate loans or ARM loans can be tied to a number of indices, but the most prevalent are The US 1-Year Treasury Bond and the LIBOR or London Inter Bank Daily Rate. If your variable rate loan is tied to one of these loans and you're past the introductory period you can track upcoming changes by looking up these indices and comparing them to where they were when you originally took your mortgage loan.

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Slower housing price gains and higher interest rates are contributing to a slowdown in the housing market. Experts forecast growth in the upcoming year, though not at the torrid pace of the last few years.

Bloomberg News:

Higher home prices and borrowing costs will curtail demand this year, according to real estate industry forecasts. Demand for refinancing and home equity loans, which have driven consumer spending and boosted economic growth, may also fade. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President William Poole said business investment will begin to replace housing as an engine of growth.

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