WesCorp Exec Predicts Spike In InterestRates

ORLANDO, Fla. - (03/17/05) -- One expert is anticipating a sharprise in interest rates in the near term, and that could mean abursting of the so-called housing market bubble. "We expect aninterest rate spike in the next three to six months," DwightJohnston, VP-economic and market research with WesCorp, toldattendees of the Financial Solutions Symposium here hosted byWestCorp and Callahan & Associates. That upward spike won't bebecause of any action by the Fed, he suggested; rather it will be achange in psychology. "We're going to wake up one day and justdecide rates are too low," Johnston offered. He said people aregoing to come to the realization that housing costs--and the factpeople can't afford their own homes-does matter. "I believe thebubble will burst. The bigger question is where and when," he said,noting some parts of the country may be insulated from the bubble'sburst.