Interest Rates are Affecting Housing in 2023. Interest rates started increasing in March 2022 and hasn’t stopped since. Rates went from around 3% in June 2022 to 5% in May 2023. This month, September 2023, interest rates are affecting housing and hovering around 7%. Many experts note that efforts to curb inflation has taken longer to affect homes in high-demand areas like Northern Virginia. Still, higher interest rates do have an effect on housing in 2023. They affect housing supply, buyer demand, affordability, and home prices.