Mortgage rates have steadily risen over the past year and are near their 5 year high. I have spoken to a local mortgage broker and it seems that people are having trouble getting approved for mortgages.

You must have excellent credit to get financed and even then it isn’t very easy at the present time. If you have mediocre credit this broker said you better have at least 5% down. He expects it to begin to turn around after the end of the year.

With the Fannie/Freddie troubles it may be sometime before we see a turn around in the mortgage industry. The Feds have also used everything in their toolbox so the recovery is going to be slow.

I am watching the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac issue closely (recently purchased stock when they were at their lows). I do feel they will make it and when they get on a little better footing the rates will come down.

Although with all this said now may be the best time to buy if can can get approved. The price correction has made this a a great time to buy and lock in these low home rates and then you can refinance later to catch the falling mortgage interest rates in the future.

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