Mortgage Rates Might Not Be Low for Long

The near-record low mortgage rates seen during the past few weeks may not be around much longer.

Signs of improving economic conditions could lead Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke to raise key interest rates, driving up mortgage rates.

Fewer banks have reported tightening their lending standards in the past quarter. If lending standards start to stabilize, the Fed may remove emergency lending procedures, including the zero rate.

This means that consumers will start to see interest rates climbing back up in the months ahead.