HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) — The federal reserve raised the interest rate, or "prime" rate a total of 11 times in one economic cycle to try to stop inflation. Now that inflation has cooled, the feds lowered it by half a point. So is it a good time to buy a home? A real estate agent and a loan officer explained how the prime rate affects the mortgage rate you pay each month. "No sooner had they lowered the fed funds rate that afternoon when I got home, my neighbor said, 'I heard they lowered rates, that's great for you,'" said Nick Russo, venture president with Towne Mortgage. "And in reality, mortgage rates had gone up that afternoon." The prime rate is an interest rate lenders use to determine a mortgage rate. Mortgage rates are based on the market and on the best type of borrower with good credit. While prime rates are set in several steps, Mortgage rates can change daily. "[In October], we hit a high of 7.79% — that was the national average rate in October," Russo said. "And I think two weeks ago, late September, it hit 6.02%. And I think last Thursday it came out at 6.32%." But that slight spike in mortgage rates may be short lived, which is why lenders and real estate agents are saying folks should jump into the market now. "What you want to do is build equity," said Chuck Kirkwood, a broker and owner with Weichert Inlet Properties. "And the sooner that you do that and get into a property, a home, the quicker that equity can be built. ... The appreciation rate outpaces the difference in interest rate." Said Russo: "I would not have been able to buy my second home without the growth of value in my first. And I would not have been able to buy my third home and step into another market without the growth in value of my second home." Experts are currently seeing home values growing by 4% to 6%. "You may be paying $500 more a month than you wanted to pay," Russo said, "but at the end of a year, ... your $330,000 house is now worth $360,000." And they say to do it sooner than later because … "The pricing of homes is not decreasing," Kirkwood said. And some lenders say it could quickly turn from a buyer's market to a seller's market. "We are not that far withdrawn from where we were three years ago when the bidding was so intense and the prices were getting run up," said Wes Flowers, a loan officer with Southern Trust Mortgage. "Right now, there's a deal to be had, and even some concessions from a seller to try to entice you to write on their property." To give perspective, mortgage rates were around 3% during the pandemic. While experts say we may never see that again, they do think they might go as low as the 5s next year.