Are mortgage rates being kept down by the government?

Yes.. rates have been kept artificially low by the Federal Reserve's perseverance of the purchasing of Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS)... because of the general condition of our economic situation, rates should continue to stay low... eventually they will go up, but they should stay low for a while.. I'm a Broker here in Scottsdale AZ and I only lend in Arizona. If you or someone you know is looking for financing options, feel free to contact me or pass along my information. 480-287-5714 WilliamAcres.com

If we could predict interest rates we would not be mortgage brokers...but the government has definitely taken some fiscal measures to help keep the prevailing rates of interest low. Are they being kept artificially low? I don't think so because there are too many free market forces to keep them in check. They will eventually rise but probably not until the economy shows signs of significant improvement. If you are on the fence trying to decide when to buy or refinance then I wouldn't wait. Just my opinion.

Yes and Yes. The question with the unknown answer is "When will rates start to rise?" The probable answer is... "Before you know it!" Rates have been kept artificially low for a couple of years now. At some point in time, they will stop the efforts and rates will rise. You need to act before they do. ~ Bert Carpenter, The LoansA2z team of NOVA Home Loans ~ NMLS 40586 ~ Licensed in California and Arizona ~ www.LoansA2z.com 888-889-9950

To a certain degree yes. They have continued to purchase fixed income instruments via the FOMC in the open market espcially mortgage backed bonds. This keeps their price up...thus keeping rates/yields down since price and yield of a bond have an inverse relationship. Keep in mind rates are generally going to be lower in a recessionary period regardless, but the Fed has certainly helped to keep them deflated for an extended period.

Yes and the answers above are good answers

Lots of good answers above. Regardless of what the FED does to help keep them low, as the stock market improves there will be pressure on interest rates to rise - generally (doesn't always work out exactly) what is good for stocks means some rise in interest rates. Concern about the "fiscal cliff", economic problems in Europe, potential war in the middle East all can impact. Don't wait if you have the opportunity to refinance or purchase today.

There is no way to know for sure when rates will start to rise.

The Federal Reserve has been purchasing Mortgage Backed Securities (MSB) to decrease mortgage rates and help positively stimulate the economy. This is referred to as "Quantitative Easing" and the Fed plans to continue with the MBS purchases until the economy improves and the unemployment rate decreases. However, there is no predicting as to how long mortgage rates will stay at this level before increasing. If you are eligible to refinance to a lower rate today, take advantage of it while you know rates are low.

Absolutely and definitely.