McLean, VA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 01/20/2016 --An increase in federal rate hikes often times have consequences for mortgage borrowers, but thanks to the services provided and results delivered by a Virginia-based real estate agent, both buyers and sellers can mitigate any consequences and are in good hands.

"Potential buyers and or sellers should reach out me," said John Seggerman of Seggerman Homes.

So what does the Fed's interest rate hike mean, if anything, for residential real estate?

Seggerman, who spent four years as foreign policy adviser in the U.S. Senate and 15 years of increasing responsibility (Legislative Assistant and Legislative Director) in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, reacted to the Federal Reserve's raising of the federal funds rate by 25 basis points last December.

"It seems like it has been endless months, if not years, that we have been warned about an impending rate hike," Seggerman pointed out. "This has compelled some consumers to consider this rate hike in the context of buying or selling a home. People constantly ask me what the interest rate increase means for the market. My short answer would be a twist on a line from FDR: the only thing we have to worry about is worry itself. There are several reasons why I think last month's big news should not be the principal factor guiding people's homebuying and homeselling decisions."

The first reason, according to Seggerman, is that the Fed's increase shows that the body has confidence in the U.S. economy. Accordingly, a sound economy, he said, should induce confidence in the real estate sector.

"The second reason is that if the economy were to take a downturn - which is possible given the recent turmoil in worldwide stock markets - the Fed would be less inclined to continue raising rates," Seggerman noted. "And third, the Federal Reserve benchmark rates do not neatly track with mortgage rates. In fact, Fannie Mae's chief economist expects 30-year mortgage rates to increase only modestly - from 3.9% to 4.1% - if the Fed increased rates by a full percentage point this year. Fourth, this increase and expected further increases in 2016 are quite modest when compared to Alan Greenspan's full point increases of the 1990's."

Finally, Seggerman stressed, some experts speculate that mortgage rates could even go down further following the Fed's increase. Not long ago, from mid-2004 through mid-2005 as the Fed was raising its benchmark rate, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate declined from 6.3% to 5.58%.

"So my view on last month's big news is that consumers ought to stay the course on residential real estate - there will always be real life reasons to buy and sell a home due to family changes, job changes, etc.," said Seggerman.

Seggerman added that despite the market conditions and rate hikes, he has the knowledge and experience to help both buyers and sellers get what they want.

As to why Seggerman, who is licensed in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., is so successful in helping clients and why potential buyers and or sellers should contact him, the real estate agent credited his honesty, intelligence, and understanding of the business.

Past clients vouch for Seggerman's expertise:

"John marketed and sold our home in North Arlington and we could not have been happier with the service and results," two previous clients said jointly, while adding, "Prior to listing the home, he gave us some useful suggestions in preparation while providing complimentary professional staging services. Throughout the time the home was on the market, John was diligent in marketing the home and attended to every detail. John's negotiation skills and hard work resulted in a great price for our home and a smooth transaction. We would certainly recommend him to other home sellers."

A second set of previous clients also complimented Seggerman's services and results, saying their experience with Seggerman is one of the best they've ever had and went on to recommend that anyone in the residential real estate market should contact Seggerman.

"We enlisted the services of John, who in 2015 successfully marketed and sold our luxury condo in DC. We knew going in that this would be a challenging transaction, since a previous effort to list it fell short for several reasons. John's experience, deliberate manner and attention to detail were invaluable in obtaining for us a very good price in a smooth transaction. John didn't just ensure that we had a contract on our unit, but he made sure that it closed - a very important distinction. There are always many hurdles and obstacles with a successful closing, and ours simply would not have happened without John's expertise. We are convinced that many realtors would not have surmounted the challenges of selling this particular property in this particular condo building. We highly recommend John for anyone interested in buying or selling residential real estate in the DC metro area."

For more information, please visit: http://www.seggermanhomes.com - http://www.johnseggerman.com or stop by Seggerman's Main Office at: 6257 Old Dominion Drive, McLean, VA 22101.