The Federal Reserve’s second round of quantitative easing – the spending of more than $600 billion – will impact interest rates on mortgages and other long-term loans, pushing rates down by a fraction of a percentage point, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. However, the impact on an individual consumer could be minimal.

Most of the consumers across the country who are able to refinance their mortgages have had the opportunity to do so for months, as rates have hovered at or near record lows, the report said. However, many homeowners have opted not to refinance. According to one study, even before the Fed made its first round of bond buying, the national average on mortgage rates was a full point lower than what 56 percent of all consumers were currently paying.

Economists at Goldman Sachs estimate that the bond buying will keep interest rates about 0.15 percent below where they normally would be, the report said. Because of this, only about 3 million homeowners, or about 6 percent of those across the country, would actually find this an attractive enough rate to seek a refinance.

Many consumers have given up on trying to refinance their existing home loan in recent weeks as rates have begun to climb again to highs not seen since the spring.

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