If you are thinking of buying a home using conventional financing, then now may be the time to act. Fixed-rate mortgages reached new lows for 2011 on Friday, with 30-year fixed loans averaging 4.60 percent and 15-year fixed loans averaging 3.78 percent. This is 0.24 percent and 0.43 percent less, respectively, than the same loans at this time last year, leading the National Association of Home Builders to report that home affordability has now reached its highest level in 20 years [1].

Over the past few months, nearly all experts have agreed that mortgage rates are highly likely to rise in June of this year. And in other parts of the world like Australia and Germany, lenders are hiking rates to combat inflation [2]. However, in the United States rates have remained surprisingly low long past when analysts predicted they would rise. It remains to be seen if this June brings higher rates or whether the government will continue to fight to keep interest rates as low as possible.

Do you think that the time has come to raise the rates, or should they remain low?

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