The higher or lower the prime rate tends to go, the more likely it is that the cost of credit card or adjustable-rate mortgage payments will go up or down as well. Should the prime rate decrease by a large enough amount, you may also wish to consider refinancing your mortgage or renegotiating credit cards to obtain better interest rates and pay less out of pocket as well. Put simply: Adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) and variable loan products may be considerably influenced by a change in prime rate. But if you’ve locked in an interest rate on a fixed-rate financial product, your interest rate won’t be impacted by the prime rate, as it was cemented at the time you applied for the loan. In addition, if the prime rate continues to remain low, and interest rates stay favorable for those wishing to borrow money (e.g., prospective homeowners), it has the potential to positively impact predictions for this year's housing market. Alternately, if the prime rate and mortgage interest rates should climb, it may negatively impact these projections as well.